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Assistant Professor Patrick Cirino
Publications | Patents | Research Group
Research Summary
Research in my laboratory interfaces Chemical Engineering with the biological sciences, with emphases in biomolecular engineering, metabolic engineering, and biocatalysis. Nature provides a vast collection of biological systems which have evolved mechanisms to achieve catalysis, regulation, molecular recognition, and energy utilization with incredible efficiency. Our ability to successfully re-design and harness these elegant systems is integral to realizing a future of cost-effective "green" chemistry and renewable fuels, bioremediation, and "next-generation" therapeutics. We apply biological design principles at the molecular level (e.g., engineer proteins) as well as the systems level (e.g., engineer metabolic pathways) to achieve our goals. Metabolic Engineering
Poster Presented at Metabolic Engineering Conference
Protein Engineering/Molecular Recognition
Computation and modeling contribute to all areas of our research by reducing experimental variables and guiding our experimental efforts. Likewise, experimental results can provide information leading to improved biological models. This complementary exchange of information is realized through collaborations with Dr. Costas Maranas in our department. More information on the research group page. Additional projects include engineering enantioselective ligand binding sites into proteins for use in chiral separations and engineering oxygenase enzymes for novel biosynthetic applications. All research projects draw from a broad base of knowledge and experimental techniques spanning many disciplines, the common goal being that we use biology to solve problems pertinent to the expanding field of Chemical Engineering. To learn more about research opportunities in my lab or if you wish to contact me, feel free to email me at: cirino@engr.psu.edu Postdoctoral Research Positions are Available!Candidates wishing to pursue postdoctoral research in the areas of metabolic engineering or protein engineering are encouraged to contact Dr. Cirino. Please include your C.V. and a description of prior research experiences. Learn about Penn State's undergraduate synthetic biology research team and "iGEM" project.
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Metabolic
engineering is defined as the improvement of cellular activities by manipulation
of enzymatic, transport, and regulatory functions of the cell with the
use of recombinant DNA technology. Current research is aimed at the conversion
of renewable biomass to chemicals and fuels through metabolic engineering
in microorganisms. Lignocellulosic residues from plant biomass are largely
composed of carbohydrate polymers which can be converted into sugar mixtures
consisting primarily of glucose and xylose. We are engineering the metabolism
of E. coli to create biocatalytic strains which maximize yields
on reducing equivalents (e.g., NAD(P)H) derived from these sugars. This
reducing power is subsequently channeled away from aerobic respiration
and into driving reactions of interest, such as the reduction of xylose
to xylitol. 
We are using combinatorial (evolutionary) as well as rational
(structure-based) protein design techniques to engineer transcriptional
regulatory proteins. These proteins are being designed to recognize specific
molecules of interest and can therefore signal the presence or concentration
of these "effector" molecules through gene transcription. Customized
transcriptional regulators will serve as powerful tools in subsequent
protein engineering and metabolic engineering efforts.
