We engineer specialized genetic systems that go beyond what nature’s genetic systems can do. We have developed synthetic genetic systems that dramatically accelerate the speed of evolution, that reinterpret the genetic code, and that record transient information as heritable mutations, all in living cells. We apply our systems to the discovery and optimization of useful biomolecules, biopolymers, and therapeutics; the study and control of molecular evolution; the strategic generation of evolutionary data for AI; the origination and evolution of novel biomolecular and biological function; and the study of cellular and developmental processes. Our research spans the fields of genetic engineering, synthetic biology, protein evolution, directed evolution, machine learning, and cell biology. Key questions that guide our research include: What does the map between macromolecular sequence and function look like? How are nearly-infinite high dimensional sequence spaces, such as those defining RNA and protein function, productively searched? How do new gene functions emerge? How does a gene’s evolutionary past shape its future? How does a cell’s past experiences influence its developmental future?

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