Isaac Hilton

Isaac Hilton is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering and BioSciences at Rice University, and a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research. His research focuses on engineering the human genome, epigenome, and transcriptome using CRISPR/Cas9 technologies and synthetic biology tools. He holds a Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the University of North Carolina and completed postdoctoral training at Duke University under Charles Gersbach.

Research Interests: Dr. Hilton's lab develops tools to study epigenetic regulation in cancer (e.g., MYC/MYB oncogenes), model cancer progression, and engineer therapeutic cell types. Key areas include chromatin engineering, synthetic transcriptional control, and translational applications in immunotherapy and regenerative medicine.

• Education:
  • Ph.D., Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2013)
  • B.S., Biological Sciences, University of Missouri Columbia (2004)
• Funding: $2M CPRIT grant, NIH NIBIB/NIGMS/NHGRI, DARPA, and the Dunn Foundation.

Recent Work Trends: Publications emphasize CRISPR-based epigenome editing tools, mechanosensitive transcription modules, and combinatorial epigenetic modulation for disease modeling. The lab actively collaborates with Texas Medical Center institutions to translate findings into clinical therapies.

• Awards: CPRIT Scholar (2018), First-Time Tenure-Track Faculty Award (CPRIT, 2017).

Lab Activities: The Hilton Lab trains multidisciplinary teams in bioengineering, molecular biology, and computational approaches. Current projects involve engineering cells as 'living pharmacies' and developing epigenetic therapies for resistant cancers.