Tal Danino

Tal Danino.

Tal Danino. Courtesy of the artist.

Tal Danino, Supernova Blue. Courtesy of the artist.

Tal Danino, HeLa Pattern. Courtesy of the artist.

Tal Danino is a synthetic biologist, engineering some of the smallest forms of life, in the form of “programmable” bacteria.

Danino’s research explores the emerging field of synthetic biology, focusing on designing novel behaviors in bacteria that have technological applications. The interaction of microbes and tumors is a major target of his work, where synthetic biology tools are used to program ­­microbes as diagnostics and therapeutics for cancer. Dr. Danino also brings this science outside the laboratory as a TED Fellow and through bio-art projects.

Press
MIT News, Cancer-Fighting Bacteria
MIT News, Diagnosing Cancer with Help from Bacteria
BBC News, TED 2015: Bacteria Programmed to Find Tumors