معرفی
Leonard Josh is a Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University, affiliated with the McCormick School of Engineering and the Center for Synthetic Biology. He leads research in mammalian synthetic biology, focusing on engineering programmable cell-based therapies and diagnostics, including synthetic receptors, genetic programs, and gene therapy platforms using bioengineered vesicles. His work bridges synthetic biology with systems biology to address challenges in medicine and biotechnology.
He holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Management of Technology Certificate from the Haas School of Business. His academic roles include directing the NIH-funded Biotechnology Training Program (T32) and serving on policy councils such as the Engineering Biology Research Consortium. He founded Syenex, a startup advancing gene delivery technologies.
Research emphasizes programmable immune therapies for cancer, engineered biosensors, and computational design tools like the COMET toolkit. Recent studies explore hypoxia-responsive genetic circuits, CRISPR-based diagnostics, and extracellular vesicle engineering for targeted delivery. His lab collaborates widely, with projects published in Science Advances, Nature Chemical Biology, and Nature Communications.
Leonard’s policy engagement includes congressional testimony on 21st-century biology and fostering entrepreneurship through lab initiatives. His educational outreach includes high school student programs in synthetic biology, promoting science literacy and innovation.
