Center for Cellular Construction

The Center will learn how to engineer the physical structures and interactions of living cells. The Exploratorium's role is to engage the public with cellular engineering research through exhibits and demonstrations.
Could cells act as bioreactors, manufacturing valuable drugs or biofuels? Could we engineer cells and design them for specific tasks?
These are some of the visions being pursued by The Center for Cellular Construction, whose mission is to transform cell biology into an engineering discipline by learning how to engineer the physical structures and interactions of living cells.
As a partner institution in this National Science Foundation grant, the Exploratorium will translate concepts, samples, and tools from the Center into exhibits and demonstrations to engage the public with cellular engineering research.
Meet Your Microbiome
Our bodies contain 30 trillion microbes, a microbiome that seems essential for our well-being.
Project Leadership
Principal Investigator Wallace Marshall, UCSF
Co-Principal Investigator Zev Gartner, UCSF
Managing Director Debra Singer, UCSF
Exploratorium Site Director Kristina Yu, Exploratorium
Exploratorium Site Co-Director Joyce Ma, Exploratorium
Cells to Self

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant 1548297. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.