At the UCSF Cell Design Institute, we are harnessing the power of living cells to treat human disease.

MISSION | advance the emerging field of cell engineering

• Understand the fundamental design principles of cellular regulatory circuits, both natural and engineered.

• Work with clinicians to harness cells as a new platform for living therapies to treat our most challenging diseases.

• Develop foundational molecular toolkits and theoretical/computational platforms for cell design that will empower the entire field.

• Open new application areas for cell engineering, including inflammation, autoimmunity, neurological disease, and regeneration.

• Train, develop and diversify the leaders and workforce for the field of cell engineering.

Why cell engineering? Why now?

Cells are the core building blocks of all living systems. They are microscopic machines that can carry out a remarkably diverse set of tasks. Recently, we have developed the capability to genetically program cells as living therapies to intelligently search a patient’s body for disease. Because cells are alive and capable of sensing and responding to stimuli, they can detect and treat diseases in smarter and more sophisticated ways than chemical or protein drugs. Thus, engineered cells hold promise for treating the most challenging diseases of today, such as cancer, inflammation, fibrosis, and degeneration.

Workforce development and education

A major goal of the Cell Design Institute is not only to innovate in the field, but to also train a new kind of scientist. The diverse students, postdocs and scientists at the CDI will be the future leaders of the emerging field of cell engineering. We are also committed to developing the workforce for the industry of cell engineering, through programs such as the CDI research internship program for masters students from San Francisco State University. The CDI also engages our community through K-12 outreach and our work with science museums such as San Francisco’s Exploratorium.