Engineering Genetic Circuits: Design

This course gives an introduction to the biology and biochemistry necessary to understand genetic circuits. It starts by providing an engineering viewpoint on genetic circuit design and a review of cells and their structure. The second module introduces genetic parts and the importance of standards followed by a discussion of genetic devices used within circuit design. The last two modules cover experimental techniques and construction methods and principles applied during the design process.   This course can also be taken for academic credit as ECEA 5934, part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering.

• An Engineers Guide to Genetic Circuits
• This week gives a brief introduction to the biology and biochemistry necessary to understand genetic circuits. The material covered is only a basic overview, since it is usually the topic of whole courses. It should, however, give the grounding necessary to begin studying the modeling, analysis, and design of genetic circuits.
• Genetic Parts
• This week highlights the importance of standards in synthetic biology as an engineering discipline. Furthermore, the week introduces genetic parts - the basic building used to construct genetic circuits.
• Genetic Devices
• This week introduces genetic devices, the aggregation of multiple genetic parts. Basic rules for composing, as well as different types of devices, are introduced, as well.
• Genetic Construction
• This week introduces techniques used to construct a genetic circuit. This includes commonly used methods like polymerase chain reaction for cloning and DNA assembly methods. Finally, construction methods to assemble different genetic parts are presented.
• Principles of Genetic Circuit Design
• This week introduces practical challenges in realizing genetic circuit designs.