[Source: Julie Kurth, ASU] — The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has named biological engineer Drew Endy, Ph.D., to its advisory board. Endy is an assistant professor in the biological engineering department at MIT, where he co-founded the Synthetic Biology working group and the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. He organized the first International Conference on Synthetic Biology and his synthetic biology labs led to the organization of the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, a worldwide genetic engineering competition for undergraduates.
One of a handful of pre-eminent researchers in the emerging field of synthetic biology, Endy has led a number of initiatives supporting free access to genetic information as a means to encourage greater progress in the field. His research has focused on developing foundational tools that make it easier to engineer biology, so that many more biotechnology applications can be readily realized