The Alper Lab

Join McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering as an assistant professor, tenure-track, starting Fall 2026. Ideal candidates have research connections to biotechnology and/or materials engineering. Learn more, and apply: bit.ly/ChE_AP2025.

A great upcoming conference to attend.

In his lecture "Engineering Biology to Develop a Taste for Waste" at #AIChEAnnual October 29 in San Diego, Hal Alper will address how #metabolic engineering and synthetic biology are improving how we deal with waste. bit.ly/3XD5nt5 @LabAlper #synbio

In an effort to re-circularize plastic waste in upcycled technologies, @LabAlper of @UTAustin will screen 1000s of untested enzymes that can degrade common plastics. @TexasChE jgi.doe.gov/announcement-c…

New @NatureComms review on the challenges and opportunities for using bio-based approaches to solve the plastics problem. @TexasChE doi.org/10.1038/s41467…

Here we discuss challenges and opportunities for biobased degradation of plastics: doi.org/10.1038/s41467…

New robust (growth-phase and scale-independent) promoters for S. cerevisiae doi.org/10.1016/j.synb…

New @NatureComms paper published today on the de novo production of a suite of halogenated molecules produced using E. coli. 26 halogenated compounds produced including many new-to-nature. doi.org/10.1038/s41467…

Recently we reported on a co-culture system enabled by Y. lipolytica to produce apigenin and isovitexin. doi.org/10.1016/j.ymbe…

We are thrilled to be working with @bit_Biome on a collaboration to find new plastic degrading enzymes and microbes! @soichirotsuda bitbiome.bio/news/news-pres…

@soichirotsuda We are thrilled to be working with @bit_Biome on this collaboration!

bitBiome is deeply committed to the environment and sustainability & we know we can't tackle this alone. Hence we collaborate! We're thrilled to announce our collaboration with Prof. Alper @LabAlper to discover novel enzymes for plastic degradation🎉 bitbiome.bio/news/news-pres… 🧵👇

A sustainable future is biological. How can we engineer biology to make what we need? We worked with @LabAlper @jgi to explore accelerating biological design with flux enhanced cell-free systems. #syntheticbiology doi.org/10.1016/j.ymbe…

Excited to see our collaboration with @MichaelCJewett @JGI published. Here we combine metabolic engineering with cell-free biology to produce pre-optimized, flux enhanced cell extracts for rapid prototyping of pathways doi.org/10.1016/j.ymbe…

Our latest @NatureComms paper features a tripartite consortium for producing phenylpropanoids (including eugenol). Modular consortia can overcome enzyme promiscuity limitations. These consortia also work in Engineered Living Materials. @NelsonLabUW @NSF doi.org/10.1038/s41467…

Three university teams and an industry performer will take initial steps to lessen risks associated with biomanufacturing capabilities in resource-limited environments, including space, as part of the DARPA B-SURE program #UF #UTAustin #WUSTL #Space_Tango ow.ly/Cwi450OmTrj

Our lab has been collaborating with the @LabAlper, @NelsonLabUW, and @AyokunleOlan among others to make engineered living materials! Imagine a building material that can photosynthesize, make chemicals, and repair itself! bit.ly/41Atlou

We're excited to announce the publication of our most recent article that utilizes microfluidic droplet screening to identify differential itaconic acid production phenotypes in yeast. Read it here: doi.org/10.1039/D3LC00…

Biomanufacturing Blasts Off to Support Space Missions and, Potentially, Life on Other Planets @DARPA @TexasChE @Contreras_Lab cockrell.utexas.edu/news/archive/9…

Three university teams will explore and take initial steps to mitigate risks associated with manufacturing capabilities that rely on biological processes in space as part of the DARPA B-SURE program #UF #UTAustin #WUSTL ow.ly/vLLE50NkweF