Researcher

Hana El-Samad

Profile

Hana El-Samad is the Kuo Family Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF and a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. Her research sits at a unique intersection of engineering control theory, synthetic biology, and systems biology. El-Samad's laboratory uses mathematical modeling and experimental synthetic biology to understand how living cells implement feedback control — the molecular mechanisms that allow cells to sense perturbations and restore homeostasis. Her group was among the first to formally analyze biological circuits using feedback control theory, identifying analogies between biological regulatory networks and engineered control systems in electronics and robotics. She has engineered synthetic feedback controllers implemented in living yeast and mammalian cells, demonstrating precise control of gene expression dynamics. El-Samad also developed CRISPRa-based synthetic circuits for controlling cellular decisions with single-gene resolution. Her lab is a buyer of microfluidics equipment, time-lapse microscopy systems, automated liquid handling platforms, and custom optogenetics hardware. She has received a Packard Fellowship, an NSF CAREER Award, a Sloan Research Fellowship, and was named a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator. She serves on multiple synthetic biology and biotech advisory boards.

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