Tal Danino

Tal Danino is a synthetic biologist and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University.^[1]

Danino graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with Bachelor of Science degrees in physics, mathematics and chemistry. He received a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, and completed Postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[2]

Danino is the director of the Synthetic Biological Systems Laboratory at Columbia University, which focuses on using synthetic biology to engineer living medicines. The lab designs gene circuits that control the behavior of microbes so that they can sense-and-respond to environments in the body, improving specificity. A primary application is the programming of bacteria as a cancer therapy, whereby microbes selectively colonize tumors and are engineered to locally produce and release therapeutics. For this work, he has received multiple awards including the NSF CAREER Award, DOD Era of Hope Scholar Award, CRI Lloyd J Old STARS Award, Pershing Prize. Tal is also a TED Fellow and his work has been summarized in TED and TED-Ed videos.^[3][4]

Danino transforms living microorganisms like bacteria and cancer cells from the laboratory into bioart works using various forms of media. His works encompass many themes but often explores the relationship between humans, microbes and technology. Tal did residencies at Eyebeam, Seed, and recently was part of 7x7 (Rhizome/New Museum). His work has been featured in many media outlets such as New York Times,^[5][6] The Atlantic,^[7] and Wired magazine.^[8] He has collaborated with many artists, notably Vik Muniz^[9] and Anicka Yi.^[10] A book entitled Beautiful Bacteria (2024, Rizzoli-Electa)^[11] highlights some of the microbial petri dish art he and his lab has produced.