Christina Smolke

Christina Smolke is an American synthetic biologist whose primary research is in the use of yeast to produce opioids for medical use.[1][2] She is a Full Professor of Bioengineering and of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University.[3] She is the editor of The metabolic pathway engineering handbook (2010).[4] She is an advisory board member for Integrative Biology.[5]

Christina Smolke
NationalityUnited States
Scientific career
FieldsSynthetic biology
InstitutionsStanford University
External video
“Finding Medicine Where You Least Expect It”, Christina Smolke, TEDxStanford

Biology research

Smolke and her laboratory team at Stanford University have pioneered work into the creation of a synthetic enzyme that converts reticuline, a key element of opioids.[6][7] The process adds five genes from two different organisms to the yeast cells. Three of these genes come from the poppy, and the others from a bacterium that lives on poppy plant stalks. They produced the first narcotic using synthetic biology.[8][9]

Smolke has also done work on cancer cells with Maung Nyan Win, designing molecules from RNA that can identify biomarkers in the cellular state of diseased cells. Such molecules could act as computational devices within the cell, detecting states and determining whether or not to carry out a particular action. They have the potential to be used in "smart" drug delivery systems, to ensure that healthy cells will not be affected by treatments. Potential applications are being investigated at the City of Hope Cancer Center.[10][11][12]

Awards
  • SynBioBeta Award for “Most Promising New Synthetic Biology Startup”, 1st Annual Engineering Biology Awards (2015)[13]
  • National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award (2012)[14][15]
  • World Technology Award in Biotechnology by the World Technology Network (2009)[16]
  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (2008)[17]
  • National Science Foundation CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2006)[18]
  • Beckman Young Investigator Award, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation (2005)[19][20][4]
  • 35 Innovators Under 35, MIT Technology Review (2004)[21]

Selected publications
  • Metabolic Pathway Engineering Handbook (2 volumes), CRC Press. 2009. ISBN 978-0849339233
  • Stephanie Galanie1, Kate Thodey2, Isis J. Trenchard2, Maria Filsinger Interrante2, Christina D. Smolke2. Complete biosynthesis of opioids in yeast. Science 4 September 2015: Vol. 349 no. 6252 pp. 1095-1100 DOI: 10.1126/science.aac9373
  • Win, Maung Nyan; Smolke, Christina D. (2008). "Higher-order cellular information processing with synthetic RNA devices". Science. 322 (5900): 456–460. Bibcode:2008Sci...322..456W. doi:10.1126/science.1160311. PMC 2805114. PMID 18927397.
  • Pfleger, Brian F.; et al. (2006). "Combinatorial engineering of intergenic regions in operons tunes expression of multiple genes". Nature Biotechnology. 24 (8): 1027–1032. doi:10.1038/nbt1226. PMID 16845378. S2CID 35290951.
  • Bayer, Travis S.; Smolke, Christina D. (2005). "Programmable ligand-controlled riboregulators of eukaryotic gene expression". Nature Biotechnology. 23 (3): 337–343. doi:10.1038/nbt1069. PMID 15723047. S2CID 8655034.
  • Win, Maung Nyan; Smolke, Christina D. (2007). "A modular and extensible RNA-based gene-regulatory platform for engineering cellular function". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (36): 14283–14288. doi:10.1073/pnas.0703961104. PMC 1964840. PMID 17709748.

References
  1. Rachel Feltman (13 August 2015). "Scientists engineer yeast to turn sugar into hydrocodone". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. Sheriff, Natasja (Aug 16, 2016). "What if we could brew painkillers?". Ideas.TED.com. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  3. "Narcotic Drugs Can Be Coaxed From Yeast". The New York Times. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  4. Smolke, Christina D., ed. (2010). The metabolic pathway engineering handbook : fundamentals (1st ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis. p. 15. ISBN 9781439802960. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. https://academic.oup.com/ib/pages/Editorial_Board
  6. "Stanford bioengineers develop a toolkit for designing more successful synthetic molecules". Stanford University. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  7. Nadia Kounang, CNN (28 August 2015). "Can synthetic narcotics lead to heroin? - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  8. "365 days: Nature's 10". Nature News & Comment. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  9. "Stanford bioengineers close to brewing opioid painkillers - KurzweilAI". Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  10. Brooks, Cassandra (February 18, 2009). "Engineers create 'intelligent' molecules". Stanford Report. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. Graham-Rowe, Duncan (October 17, 2008). "Rewriting Life Computing with RNA". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  12. Win, M. N.; Smolke, C. D. (17 October 2008). "Higher-Order Cellular Information Processing with Synthetic RNA Devices". Science. 322 (5900): 456–460. Bibcode:2008Sci...322..456W. doi:10.1126/science.1160311. PMC 2805114. PMID 18927397.
  13. "The Recipients of the 1st Annual Engineering Biology Awards Are…". SynBioBeta. October 28, 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  14. "2012 Pioneer Award Recipients". National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  15. Myers, Andrew (September 13, 2012). "Bioengineer Christina Smolke wins NIH Director's Pioneer Award". News and Events. Stanford University. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  16. "THE 2009 WORLD TECHNOLOGY AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS". THE 2009 WORLD TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT AND AWARDS. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  17. Perry, Jill. "Smolke, Hirata Named Sloan Research Fellows". Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  18. Stubbs, Jo (19 May 2014). "Women in Science – Integrative Biology introduces two new Board members". Integrative Biology Blog.
  19. "Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation: Christina D. Smolke". Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  20. Powell, Corey. "Programming Life: The Revolutionary Potential of Synthetic Biology - Meet the Panelists". Discover. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  21. "35 Innovators Under 35 2016". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
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