Spring 2025 Grantee Highlight:
Bryan Dickinson

Bryan Dickinson, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago

The Dickinson Lab is developing a new class of “smart” molecules that can drive cell-specific responses based on defined inputs—an approach that could significantly improve the safety and efficacy of bioengineering and biomedical technologies.

This proposal aims to establish single molecules that act like logic gates, making decisions inside cells based on specific molecular cues. Unlike existing strategies that rely on multiple components, the lab’s approach uses just one molecule to sense combinations of disease signals and trigger precise cellular responses.

The team has created a unique screening platform to discover these molecules, using methods fundamentally distinct from current technologies. With this platform and novel design strategies, they aim to identify molecules that activate only when two cancer-associated targets are present, enabling selective outcomes such as programmed cell death.

This technology has the potential to transform anticancer therapeutics by targeting only diseased cells, minimizing harm to healthy tissue. It could also advance synthetic biology tools for cell engineering. The Dickinson Lab’s work introduces a new framework for building decision-making molecular systems for medicine and beyond.