Prindle Lab

Synthetic biology in microbial communities

Our aim

To understand and engineer collective behaviors in microbial communities

While bacteria are single celled organisms, we now understand that most bacteria on our planet reside in the context of structured multicellular communities known as biofilms. However, most bacterial research is still performed on domesticated lab strains in well-mixed conditions. We simply do not know enough about the biology and behavior of the most pervasive life form on our planet. It is our goal to discover and understand these behaviors so that we may apply our understanding to engineer biomolecular systems as solutions to challenging biomedical problems, such as antibiotic resistance. To do this, we also work on developing technologies that can characterize collective metabolic and electrochemical dynamics that emerge in the context of biofilms.

Meet US

Our Team

The Prindle Lab combines synthetic biology, computational
modeling, and custom microfluidic devices

We are currently recruiting the following positions:

Postdoctoral Scholars

Graduate Students

Undergraduate Students

Our research

Publications

Check out Arthur’s CV and Google Scholar page

Xia JY, Hepler C, Tran P, Waldeck NJ, Bass J, Prindle AEngineered calprotectin-sensing probiotics for IBD surveillance in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023).

Everett BA, Tran P, Prindle A. Toward manipulating serotonin signaling via the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Current Opinion in Biotechnology (2022).

Boyd M, Davis A, Chamber N, Tran PPrindle A, Kamat N. Vesicle-based sensors for extracellular potassium detection. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (2021).

Quillin SJTran PPrindle A. Potential Roles for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Signaling in Bacterial CommunitiesBioelectricity (2021).

Simpson Querrey Research Bldg
302 E Huron St, Room 11-500
Chicago, IL 60611

arthur.prindle@northwestern.edu