Deconstructing and Reassembling Synthetic Human Embryos to Treat Developmental Abnormalities

The Goyal Lab at Northwestern is pioneering innovative technologies and conceptual paradigms to decode developmental disorders, accelerating diagnoses and treatments.

Starting from a single cell, human embryos undergo profound transformations, giving rise to intricate structures and a variety of cell types. While this developmental process is remarkably precise and resilient, certain genetic mutations can derail normal development, leading to abnormalities. Studies in animals including flies, fish, and mice have allowed scientists to connect specific mutations with eventual outcomes. Despite these advances, delineating the causal steps that lead to genetic abnormalities often proves challenging due to the technical difficulties of working with animal models. Dr. Yogesh Goyal’s project aims to address this gap by building a new class of animal-free, synthetic biology-inspired experimental frameworks. His team will use bottom-up, high-throughput engineering approaches to innovate tractable disease models of human development and therapeutic discovery.