Christina Smolke

Christina Smolke is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University, School of Engineering. Her research focuses on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, particularly in the biosynthesis of plant-derived natural products such as opioids, alkaloids, and tropane alkaloids using genetically modified yeast. She leads efforts to design microbial platforms for scalable production of pharmaceuticals and chemotherapeutic agents.

Smolke's work integrates systems biology approaches, computational modeling, and pathway engineering to enable de novo synthesis of complex molecules. Notable projects include the first complete biosynthesis of opioids in yeast (2015) and engineering yeast to produce anticancer alkaloids like noscapine. Her laboratory develops novel RNA-based devices for gene regulation and employs high-throughput methods for enzyme evolution and pathway optimization.

Her research bridges fundamental biological insights with applied biotechnology, addressing challenges in drug discovery, sustainable production of medicines, and synthetic biology applications in health and industry. Smolke collaborates across disciplines to advance microbial manufacturing of high-value natural products.