This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech is awarded a grant to develop GenoCAD, a web-based computer assisted design environment for synthetic biology. This infrastructure helps molecular biologists design custom DNA molecules by combining basic genetic parts used in protein expression, protein engineering, metabolic engineering, and other applications. The project has four aims. Computer languages will be developed to represent the structure of synthetic DNA molecules used in E.coli, yeast, mice, and Arabidopsis thaliana cells. The research team will develop a compiler capable of translating the DNA sequences into mathematical models of the gene network encoded in the DNA sequence to predict the phenotype encoded in the designed DNA sequences. Collaborative features will allow teams to work together on complex projects. A collaborative workflow environment will allow workgroups to share parts, designs, share fabrication resources, and define custom design strategies suitable for their projects. The award promotes the use of computer assisted design for genetic constructs by advancing discovery through teaching, training, and learning. The project contributes to broadening the participation of underrepresented groups through a joint summer program with a neighboring historically black college. Finally, the project will ensure a broad dissemination of the results by reaching out to the user community through an external advisory board, an annual user conference, and outreach to industry.
This project engages a broad community of users whose experience provides valuable feed-back. GenoCAD is made available to 1,000 undergraduate students enrolled in iGEM, a synthetic biology competition. An external advisory board composed of leaders of the academic and industrial community ensures that GenoCAD developments meet the needs of a large community of potential users. Finally, specific plans combining research grants and technology transfer will ensure the project long-term sustainability.
Additional information about GenoCAD can be found at www.genocad.org.
