Nathan Crook
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Engineering Building I (EB1) 2026
Bio
Research Areas:
Metabolic Engineering, Synthetic Biology, Microbial Ecology
The Crook Lab develops new high-throughput experimental and computational genetic engineering techniques. In doing so, we hope to uncover novel biological phenomena and accelerate applied research and development in the broad areas of metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and microbial ecology.
Our current application focus is the human gut microbiota. The ability of the gut microbiota to influence health has recently been uncovered, enabled by high-throughput DNA sequencing and animal models in which community composition is precisely controlled. The ultimate goal of this focus is the development of foundational technologies by which engineered gut commensal ecosystems can be designed and assembled as a matter of practice, enabling the conversion of food into a healthy mixture of energy, nutrients, and therapeutics.
Education
B.S. Chemical Engineering California Institute of Technology 2009
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering The University of Texas at Austin 2014
Publications
- Discovery and delivery strategies for engineered live biotherapeutic products , TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY (2022)
- Inducible directed evolution of complex phenotypes in bacteria , NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH (2022)
- A Liquid Metal Mediated Metallic Coating for Antimicrobial and Antiviral Fabrics , ADVANCED MATERIALS (2021)
- Design and in situ biosynthesis of precision therapies against gastrointestinal pathogens , CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY (2021)
- In Silico Identification and Experimental Validation of Peptide-Based Inhibitors Targeting Clostridium difficile Toxin A , ACS CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (2021)
- In Situ Biomanufacturing of Small Molecules in the Mammalian Gut by Probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii , ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY (2021)
- What E. coli knows about your 1-year-old infant: Antibiotic use, lifestyle, birth mode, and siblings , CELL HOST & MICROBE (2021)
- Establishing Probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii as a Model Organism for Synthesis and Delivery of Biomolecules , (2020)
- Inducible Directed Evolution of Complex Phenotypes in Bacteria , (2020)
- Transcript Barcoding Illuminates the Expression Level of Synthetic Constructs in E. coli Nissle Residing in the Mammalian Gut , ACS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY (2020)