The Hu Lab
Synbio Dynamical Systems and Feedback Controls
The core of our research is to understand the dynamics of biological systems and their control strategies. We take an experimental-computational hybrid approach to study various dynamical systems in synthetic biology.
Computation and Theory
This is our design foundry, which describes the collection of integrative methods we use to study the system of interest; it provides the theoretical and computational basis for creating novel biosystems with the experimental platforms.
The experimental platforms are the study subjects; they also produce data to support the development and improvement of methods in the foundry.
Cell-Silicon Communications
Microbial Populational Control
Cell-free 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.