The proposed work will result in the development of experimental tools to control glucose flux. The Glucose Valve will explore a new paradigm for biochemical production that allows the decoupling of biomass growth and metabolite production in the same way that inducible promoters have done for recombinant protein production. The Valves are intended to facilitate the metabolic engineering of biosynthetic pathways for the production of a variety of organic compounds in microbial chemical factories. The proposal incorporates both fundamental research and educational initiatives. Mathematical models to describe and predict the behavior of the Glucose Valves will also be developed, which should facilitate the extension of this experimental device to other metabolites and organisms. Undergraduate students will be educated in both the classroom and the laboratory, with course materials being made available through the OpenCourseWare portal at MIT. Additionally, a proposed "What-I-Do" Initiative seeks to introduce school age children to science- and engineering-intensive careers through a series of interviews of professionals working in representative STEM fields.
