The Hu Lab
Synbio Dynamical Systems and Feedback Controls
Multiscale Autonomous Control in Living Bacterial Cells
We engineer multiscale control systems for synthetic biology. Our goal is to program cells to sense when and where action is needed, produce the right payload, grow only under those conditions, and shut off when the signal is gone.
We apply this framework across living therapeutics, biosensing, and biomanufacturing in model and non-model bacterial chassis.
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Non-model bacterial chassis toolbox development
Autonomous population control
Optogenetic feedback control
Bacterial genome engineering
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Model growth and resource-dependent gene expression dynamics
Design Layered feedback control in multiscale gene expression systems
Develop parameter identification algorithm for synthetic biological systems
Latest Updates
05/24/2026 - Hari’s and Bhavya’s paper - Closed-loop Optogenetic Control in a Microplate Reader - is in press on ACS Synthetic Biology.
03/18/2026 - Chelsea’s preview - Antithetic integral feedback control redesigned for improved dynamics and lower noise - is now published on Cell Systems.
02/06/2026 - Hari’s first paper - Resolving emergent transient oscillations in gene circuits with a growth-coupled model - is officially published on Science Advances.
07/22/2025 - Chelsea teaches the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Synthetic Biology Summer Course 2025 in Long Island.
04/11/2025 - Our B. megaterium - CMOS arsenic sensor paper is officially published on ACS Synthetic Biology
01/15/2024 - Our BSL2 wet lab at Texas A&M University is officially in operation!
01/01/2024 - Chelsea officially transitions into a tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University.
10/01 /2023 - As part of the SPIKE team, the Hu group is supported by ARPA-H to implement layered control and containment circuitry for bacterial cancer therapeutics.