Mo Khalil
@MoKhalilLab
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Prof. @ Boston University and Wyss Institute. Understanding the natural world by building a synthetic one. website: https://t.co/PyjGQRHoUy
Boston, MA
Joined May 2017
Attn eVOLVER users & enthusiasts. 2 BIG developments!. 1) New open-source eVOLVER wiki, which will be a hub for guides and documentation: 2) eVOLVER software version 2.0 is now available! Read about the new features on the forum:
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Synthetic circuits that program new capabilities into human cells have tremendous potential to expand emerging gene and cell-based therapies. Our latest work, out today in @ScienceMagazine, reports a platform to accelerate these developments: (1/n).
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1/n PAPER ALERT: In collaboration with @davidrliu, we combined eVOLVER + PACE (= ePACE) to facilitate the evolution of compact Nme2Cas9 variants that can target single-nucleotide (previously-inaccessible) PAM sequences for precision genome editing.
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How it started (11 years ago TODAY, left). How it’s going (right). Happy Anniversary, Katie ❤️
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1/ Synbio has potential to enhance next-gen therapies, but how can we make clinically-viable, therapeutic circuits in human cells a reality? Excited to unveil 1st of several papers trying to address this question, led by the brilliant @phdivya & Huishan Li.
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We have fun & surprising news! Incredibly honored to share I've been selected as recipient of the Schmidt Science Polymath Award, which supports recently-tenured profs. with desire to explore risky new research ideas across disciplines. @SchmidtFutures .
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NEW PREPRINT: SO proud and excited to share our latest work, many years in the making! Come on a journey and learn about the power of COOPERATIVITY for encoding specificity in cells and engineering evolutionarily stable genetic circuits. [1/n].
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1/n There have been an EXCITING recent papers highlighting the importance of LOW-AFFINITY binding and COOPERATIVITY among TFs. Let me highlight a few – come take a quick ride!.
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PROTIP: Probably ill-advised to have a folder on your desktop titled "GIRLS" when Zoom screen-sharing in front of a class of undergrads. For the record, I have 2 elementary school daughters saving school work / files on my computer 🤣.
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Cat’s out of the bag. Official tenure news arrived! Many great mentors to thank within @BU_Tweets and in the #synbio and broader communities. Most of all thanks to my amazing group, who signed up for this crazy ride and were willing to drink champagne this AM in group meeting!
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I used to paint a lot. Don’t like revisiting many of my paintings, with a few exceptions. ❤️ this one. Watercolor ~20 years ago: couple having a peaceful moment overlooking an area that has historically not had many -- Golan heights viewed from 3x border of Jordan, Israel & Syria
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Thank you, @SenWarren! And thanks for your unwavering support of science! Proud to call you my senator.
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Delighted & honored to be elected into the @aimbe College of Fellows, joining so many outstanding medical & biological engineers! I'm indebted to all my mentors and most of all to #khalillab members past and present, who make this possible! 🙏.
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Non-neural cells can make memories too! To figure out how, we built a fully synthetic epigenetic system. Thrilled to share our newest work out today. Congrats to the whole team, and especially the inimitable @minheepark8, the driving force of the work!.
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PAPER! Come learn how we used synthetic circuits to investigate how specificity is achieved in gene networks, and how to apply these insights to engineer gene circuits with stable, evolutionarily-robust functions. Reported today in @CellCellPress!! 1/n.
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It's official - the @NIH has funded a new #SynBio T32 biotech training program at @BU_Tweets, which I will Co-Direct! My colleagues and I are looking forward to recruiting & training #SynBio PhDs right here in the biotech hub of the world. More information soon.
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If my twins ever start a band, this should (obviously) be the cover of their first album.
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Colin Kunze and I wrote a perspective in @ScienceMagazine on the elegant work led by @RonZhu2015 & @ElowitzLab to engineer a synthetic multistable system in mammalian cells. Check it out!.
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We previously reported the synZiFTR toolkit (compact synthetic ZF regulators) for engineering “clinically-optimized” gene circuits to control therapeutic human cell function. FUN UPDATE: We have a synZiFTR2.0 with enhanced activity (coming soon) . 1/n.
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I am SO relieved and happy for my parents. On their Wedding Anniversary, they are receiving an incredible gift: 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine! 🙏🏽🙏🏽😭😭.
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Thrilled to share our new (unredacted) report in @sciencemagazine with evidence for cooperation influencing outcomes! Led by Caleb Bashor & @nikitpatels, we built cooperative TF assemblies and showed how they enable complex signal processing in cells:
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Super excited to share that our #eVOLVER paper is now online! Check out our new reconfigurable system for automated cell growth and laboratory evolution. Congrats to @brandogw @MancusoSci and the whole team for a beautiful paper!!.
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Ah yes! Our group likes to have fun at my expense 🤣 I encourage it -- because this is how we practice our Illustrator scientific figure-making! See below examples 1/n.
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Our new work with @chang_c_liu in which we take a 1st step toward automating evolution in the lab by combining #orthoRep + #eVOLVER = ACE. Congrats to the team of Ziwei Zhong, @brandogw, Arjun Ravikumar, Garri Arzumanyan. Much more to come in this space!.
Automated continuous evolution of proteins in vivo #bioRxiv.
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PAPER ALERT: Come read about how we used lab experiments w/ #eVOLVER, soil microbes, & theory to understand how #microbiomes assemble and how ecosystems respond to environmental changes! #tweetorial below (w/ bonus insights for your sourdough starter 🤣):.
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Note from 7yo, which I love for many reasons:. 1) Clearly wrote it for Mom, and then rapidly adapted it upon realizing I was picking her up from school. 2) Evidence that I'm raising a true New Englander. "DD" = Dunkin Donuts. 🤣. * spelling needs serious work .
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Welp, after much anticipation, 2yo son finally pooped out the necklace. Yes, you read that right. It's been a long week (like many before it). .
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I am thankful for this great honor. Most of all I am thankful for all the amazing lab members and collaborators I've had the good fortune to work with! #khalillab @BU_Tweets @BUCollegeofENG .
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Taking a break from science to share a fun milestone. We made it to 2 years! HBD to these loves!
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OTD 12 years ago! My, what a joyous day it was, and what a magical 12 years it has been ❤️
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A memorable day for the lab with 3 nice milestones + recognitions:.
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OK, we’re dropping another album cover! Enjoy folks, and have a wonderful and restful Memorial Day weekend.
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SO excited and proud of the program we've put together for the @GordonConf GRC Synthetic Biology conference this summer. This is your chance to apply -- spaces are filling very quickly!!. Keynotes: Beth Sattely (@Sattely_lab), Jason Chin.
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[PLEASE RT] With my awesome co-chairs, I'm excited to share the (nearly complete) program for one of my FAVORITE meetings: Synthetic Biology @GordonConf 2023. This meeting is special -- I highly encourage folks to register and attend! @microdynamic .
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Appalled and heartbroken by the violent escalation of military force in Gaza. Ashamed and disappointed by the woefully inadequate response of the US / Biden Admin.
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Boy, it's been a while since I posted! (distracted and busy). Let's kick off 2024 with a recent, lovely pic of the group. I am SO lucky to work with these talented individuals, and I can't wait to share their discoveries and stories with you this year!
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Check out the majestic creature that just sauntered through our backyard
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A very happy day in #khalillab, as we celebrate the amazing accomplishments of @emmalemmah in her PhD Defense. Congratulations to newly minted Dr. Emma Briars!
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Yesterday, we did something special for group meeting :) There was a little science discussed; but mostly we enjoyed the sunshine and getting reacquainted after all this time. Love this group! #khalillab
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Lots to be grateful for 🙏 Thanks to the W.M. Keck Foundation for selecting our labs for this award! Excited to launch this work with my friend and collaborator @chang_c_liu. (@BU_Tweets news story to follow).
Congratulations to our own @MoKhalilLab and his .@UCIrvine colleague @chang_c_liu on their recent funding award from the Keck Foundation to study cell signaling! @BioDesignCenter. LEARN MORE >>
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I often have doubts about my parenting. The other day, somehow the topic came up: 'What are the biggest problems facing our world'. Without hesitation, my 9yo daughter blurts out: "COVID, climate change, racism". OK, we're not doing so bad . .
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6yo daughter just told my wife that she can now stop crying in the bathtub every evening 😭😭🍾🍾🤣🤣.
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Khalil lab retreat in beautiful Vermont commences! Let the science (and fun) begin. (This retreat happens to also mark our 10-year anniversary 😀🎈)
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The #khalillab reminds everyone to #WearAMask! We will be sporting our new lab-themed bandanas, designed by the talented @emmalemmah, complete with #eVOLVER vials, yeasts, and TFs! 👇.
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This is what you call a UNICORN in my house. All 4 kids this morning playing nicely and collaboratively. Shhhhh, nobody say anything — can’t risk disturbing …
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My one obligatory tweet from vacation in Maine. Now time to sign off again …
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Filling out my annual report for my institution. Colleagues: which of these potential supplemental figures best summarizes accomplishments over the last year?!
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Here we go with another semester! In this very class — in this 9th year of being faculty — is my 1000th undergraduate taught. Hard to believe!
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Greatly enjoyed being a "visiting scientist" for my daughters' science fair and talking to K-2 graders about their amazing science projects. My personal fav project sought to answer the following: Are cats afraid of cucumbers? 🐱🥒.
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Alright, just had my morning cup of bleach. Ready for a day of Zoom calls!.
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Kicked off the new year by hiking to the highest point of our fair Lexington, MA — nevermind that the summit is 374 ft! 🤣🤣 Seems fitting for 2022
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SO nice to get a note this Thanksgiving from a former high schooler who worked in the #khalillab: "My time in the lab shaped the way I look at science, as well as gave me a better idea of what I may want to do in the future . I plan on majoring in Bioengineering" #proudPI.
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How we run experiments in the #khalillab has evolved! Courtesy of the brilliant @MancusoSci. @brandogw #evolver
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Want to study #synbio w/ @DunlopLab, @DouglasDensmore, #WilsonWong, @AllysonSgro, @MoKhalilLab, @johntngo in Boston? Consider BU! We launched the first @NIH Biotech PhD Training program in #synbio! Plus great industry partners @Ginkgo, @moderna_tx, etc.
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May be a new yeast plate record for #khalillab. 160 plates X 96 spots per plate = 15,360 spots. Can’t wait to share what Adam Sanford has been working on!
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Congrats to the brilliant @minheepark8 for defending her thesis! In honor of her outstanding work to create the first epigenetic system capable of self-propagation and inheritance, I spent too much time on photoshop making this👇. Congrats Minhee! #khalillab
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My daughter: a budding engineer and chronic interruptor of Zoom lectures. Love the use of LEGO pieces! 🤣
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[Please RT] The Khalil Lab is hiring! We are looking for a Lab Manager to support daily research activities for our group of ~20 scientists. Ideal candidates can independently create, implement, and enforce workflows for molecular biology labs. Full job post in thread below 👇.
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No better way to end the week than with a successful PhD Defense in the lab! Congrats to @phdivya on a fantastic talk and PhD! And thanks to her amazing committee: @JKeithJoung, @johntngo, Wilson Wong and Chris Chen. @BUCollegeofENG #khalillab 🍾🍾 time!
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The next COVID Khalil home improvement project begins! The kids think it’s a treehouse for them, but really I’m just upping my #WFH game even more. Prepare for some spectacular sylvan Zoom backgrounds 🌿🤣
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Happy to share that Boston University @BU_Tweets is recruiting new faculty members in life sciences/engineering across MULTIPLE searches:. 1. @BioDesignCenter (w/ bio, chem, phys). 2+3. @BostonU_BME .
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This week in our Quantitative Bio class, we are covering one of my favorite topics: Epigenetics. Starting with this lovely classic paper from @BintuLacra, @ElowitzLab, and co.
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A truly magical day of science! Was uplifted to hear from so many talented young researchers at our @BioDesignCenter annual symposium, which was capped off by the one-and-only @davidrliu delivering the Charles Cantor Lecture! And if that wasn’t enough, I got vaccine-boosted 💉🙏
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Wohoo! First in-person full group meeting in many many months. SO nice to see all these lovely faces talking science together in a room.
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I had a (ahem) rare, uncharacteristic, and brief bout of road rage at a driver who v dangerously passed my car, which was full of kids, in an apparent rush. My 3yo son has since been walking around calling out FUSSING GASHOLE! I know it’s bad — but I can’t help laughing 😂
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Incredibly proud of latest #khalillab undergrad alums, who are off to grad school @MITdeptofBE, @Caltech and @UCSF_BioE / @BerkeleyBioE. Thank you for your contributions, perseverance in challenging circumstances, and thanks PB for the amazing #DIY #evolver card👇🏻!
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Me (pre-pandemic): Disgusting!. Me (1 year into pandemic with 4 young kids at home): This checks out. Let me have some of that!
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We're excited that many labs have begun to adopt our #eVOLVER platform (and we're working hard to get more labs on-board!). To facilitate your own #eVOLVER-based experiments, we worked with @JoVEJournal to film a detailed protocol. #khalillab @brandogw @MancusoSci #zackheins.
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SO excited and proud to be sharing this new preprint! Amazing work by the whole team. Ping me with any fb or if you want to talk eVOLVER!.
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When is 1+1>2? With cooperativity of course! See how we built cooperative TF assemblies from first principles, and showed how a small # of parts can produce a large # of complex regulatory behaviors. Out in @sciencemagazine. #khalillab #synbio.
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Pulled over during my commute yesterday to snap this photo of beautiful #Boston sky near the @newbalance building.
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A few pics from our wonderful recent trip to Banff and Jasper, starting with the magical lakes! 1/n
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My office whiteboard following a visit from the kids. Kid #2 sums it all up pretty darn well: ‘… blah blah Bioengineering blah blah …’ 😂
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Our Preview of recent work by @JswLab, @LukeGilbertSF, and team in @CellCellPress on developing and applying CRISPRoff, a programmable epigenetic memory writer. Kudos to #khalillab postdocs Hagar Moussa and @JamesAngstman.
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My life is complete. My absolute fav dessert growing up, now in TJs ready-to-eat format. Hot tip: this Kunefe is surprisingly pretty good.
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It is the BIG weekend of the year! (No, not the weekend before the Oct R01 deadline). It’s double birthday time (11yo, left; 9yo, right). 🎂😃🎈
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Hey, it's here -- journal cover featuring our work! Designed by the great Katie Flynn. #eVOLVER #khalillab @brandogw @MancusoSci
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As a human being, it's hard to watch what's happening and remain silent. It's especially hard being of Palestinian descent, whose family fled in '48. #EndOccupation.
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Introducing the newly minted, Dr. Sam Gan! Congrats to Sam on a wonderful PhD Defense talk, complete with classic Sam memes and dry humor 😂👨🎓🍾
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Undoubtedly the right call, nonetheless sad to report the #Synbio @GordonConf will be deferred until 2023. My co-chairs (@microdynamic, @SynBioGrant, #karenpolizzi) & I have developed an exciting, diverse program. W/ 2 more years, talks will be amazing 🤣.
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Yesterday, I spent a few GLORIOUS hours helping my daughter with her math team problems / puzzles. I have been waiting for this day for a loooooong time 😀🤓.
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As I read my 3rd of 4 dissertations in a week (!), I want to applaud all the PhD students out there adapting to this climate and brilliantly defending their theses virtually. Bravo 👏.
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The Harvard Museum of Natural History is such a gem. I know one person who would love it! @dadrummondart @dallandrummond
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Momentous day in the #khalillab. Our own @HeinZack will be defending his PhD thesis this afternoon! Among many other things, @HeinZack led development of the ePACE system featured in our collaborative work with @davidrliu @liugroup (. Stay tuned! .
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Congratulations to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna on this extremely well-deserved honor! I am in awe of these brilliant scientists -- tonight will be fun dinner-time conversation with my 3 daughters!.
BREAKING NEWS: .The 2020 #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing.”
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