Event
BIOE Seminar: Cell-Free Systems & AI for POC Diagnostics, Biomanufacturing & Materials Discovery
Friday, October 2, 2026
9:00 a.m.
A. James Clark Hall, Room #2121
Sara Molinari
saramol@umd.edu
David Garcia
Assistant Professor
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Integrating Cell-Free Systems and AI for Point-of-Care Diagnostics, Biomanufacturing, and Materials Discovery
Abstract
Cell-free synthetic biology is a powerful tool that leverages the membrane-free cytoplasmic contents of the cell to enable transcription and translation through cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), as well as biocatalytic transformations via cell-free metabolic engineering (CFME). By circumventing the constraints of cellular physiology and evolutionary pressure, cell-free systems offer a modular approach to biological transformations, enabling rapid characterization of individual biological components with precise control over the chemical environment. These tools redefine how we engineer biological systems for applications in health, materials, and energy. However, the fundamental knowledge and high-throughput techniques necessary to select ideal biocatalysts, reaction conditions, and production platforms are limited. In this talk, I will share work addressing these bottlenecks to improve the function of cell-free synthetic biology towards scalable applications. First, by demonstrating methods to rapidly optimize cell-free biosensing and bioproduction platforms; and second, by integrating cell-free systems with large language models to investigate the substrate scope and promiscuity of biological catalysts and accelerate the production of novel biological polymers.
Bio:
David C. Garcia is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Their work focuses on developing modular approaches for biological transformations, with the goal of creating robust and predictable biological tools for applications in health, materials, and energy. Prior to their current role, Dr. Garcia was a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow in the Murray Lab at Caltech and the Lux Lab in the Applied Synthetic Biology Branch at DEVCOM CBC, where they developed cell-free biological circuitry from non-traditional organisms and high-throughput methodologies for biosensor production. Dr. Garcia earned their Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Mitchel J. Doktycz.
