Christina Smolke

Christina Smolke is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University. Dr. Smolke earned her B.S. degree in chemical engineering with an emphasis in biology from the University of Southern California and her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, where she also did her postdoctoral training in the department of Molecular and Cell Biology in the laboratory of Dr. Karsten Weis. Dr. Smolke’s laboratory develops foundational tools that drive transformative advances in the ability to engineer biological systems. The Smolke Lab has pioneered the design and application of a broad class of RNA molecules, called RNA devices, that process and transmit user-specified input signals to targeted protein outputs, thereby creating genetic switches for programming cellular behaviors. Her laboratory is applying these technologies to address key challenges in cellular therapeutics, targeted molecular therapies, and green biosynthesis strategies.