Bio

B.S. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1999Ph.D. University of Delaware, 2006Post-Doc: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2006-2009

"We are a diverse group of chemists, biologists and engineers that utilize synthetic biology and biotechnology to address challenges in sustainability, human health and environmental health."

Bryan Berger, Associate Professor

Bryan received his BS in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the department of biochemistry & biophysics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Currently Bryan is associate professor of chemical engineering with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering.

The Berger lab uses synthetic biology, structural biology and protein engineering to develop models of biochemical/biological processes, and uses these models to design new tools and technologies. This work is highly interdisciplinary, involving close collaborations with clinical, government and industrial research groups.

Awards

  • National Science Foundation CAREER Award 2015

Research Interests

  • synthetic biology
  • biomanufacturing
  • biotechnology
  • biofilms
  • biomineralization
  • biosurfactants
  • biosensors
  • structural biology

In the News

Selected Publications

  • Understanding how transmembrane domains regulate interactions between human BST-2 and the SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein ORF7a ABS Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, Volume 1865, Issue 6, 2023
  • Enhancing detection of Listeria monocytogenes in food products using an enzyme ABS Food Control, Volume 145, 2023
  • Understanding the relationships between solubility, stability, and activity of silicatein ABS Materials Advances, 2023, 4, 662-668
  • Engineering human liver fatty acid binding protein for detection of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances ABS Volume 119, Issue 2, February 2022, Pages 513-522
  • Structural insights into the mechanism of pH-selective substrate specificity of the polysaccharide lyase Smlt1473 ABS VOLUME 297, ISSUE 4, 101014, OCTOBER 2021