Oza LabHome of Synthetic Biology at Cal Poly

We use synthetic biology to ask how biological systems work and how they can be designed with purpose. Our work spans three connected directions, each carried forward by undergraduate researchers.

From cells to protein, end to end

Improving access to cell-free protein synthesis

Hover over or tap any step to see what we changed and the papers behind it.

Reaction inputs

Growth

Growing the E. coli source strain. Reformulating the growth media activates the cells’ energy metabolism, which makes a 24-hour workflow from cells to protein possible, and autoinduction removes the manual induction step.

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Harvest and wash

Cells are collected by centrifugation and washed before lysis. Our protocols lay out each step so new users can prepare extract reliably.

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Lysis

Breaking the cells open releases their transcription and translation machinery. We describe simple, robust ways to prepare active extract.

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Post-lysis processing

Clarifying and conditioning the lysate turns it into active extract. Changes at this stage extended extract shelf life and raised productivity. Mixing extracts with different strengths, such as chaperone-enriched and oxidative-folding extracts, tunes the folding environment for difficult proteins.

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Cell-free protein synthesis reaction

Extract, a DNA template, and reaction components are mixed, and transcription and translation run in a tube. We characterized reaction kinetics and found ways to reach full yield faster.

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Protein product

The finished protein is ready in hours, without keeping cells alive, for testing, teaching, or downstream use.

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AI-guided design

AI protein-design and structure-prediction tools can propose new sequences. Written into a DNA template, each design goes straight into a cell-free reaction, a fast way to build and test computational designs.

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DNA template

The genetic instructions for the protein. We characterized and improved pET vectors for cell-free expression, and reviewed ways to protect linear DNA templates so they can be used directly.

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Cofactors and substrates

Amino acids, nucleotides, and cofactors supply the building blocks for transcription and translation.

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Energy and salts

An energy regeneration system and tuned salts keep the reaction running. Reaction additives can shorten the time to full yield.

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Solid-state storage

Storing cell-free systems in solid form, so reactions can travel and work outside the lab.

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Improved workflow

From growth to lysis, our changes bring the time from cells to active extract down to about a day.

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Enhanced shelf life and productivity

Extract that keeps its activity longer and makes more protein, the step that led to solid-state storage.

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Improved reaction rates

Characterizing reaction kinetics and the additives that bring a reaction to full yield sooner.

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What it enables

Three students in lab coats, safety glasses and gloves laughing as they pipette at a laboratory bench

01

Cell-free expression

Cell-free protein synthesis uses the transcription and translation machinery of E. coli outside the living cell, so a protein can be made in a test tube within hours. We work to make this platform faster, sturdier, and easier for any lab to adopt.

Focus areas

  • Streamlined extract preparation, including a workflow that goes from cells to cell-free protein synthesis within 24 hours.
  • Shelf life and solid-state storage, so reactions can travel and work outside the lab.
  • Mixing specialized extracts, such as chaperone-enriched and oxidative-folding extracts, to make soluble, active versions of difficult-to-express proteins.
  • Reaction design: DNA templates, expression vectors, and reaction times.
  • Applications in diagnostics, education, and therapeutic protein production.

Selected publications

02

Synthetic cells

A synthetic cell is assembled from the bottom up: purified biochemical machinery enclosed in a lipid membrane and built to carry out cell-like functions. Cell-free expression is the engine we use to power these systems.

Focus areas

  • Encapsulating cell-free expression inside giant lipid vesicles.
  • Energy regeneration with polyphosphate kinases to sustain protein synthesis.
  • Student-led design through Cal Poly’s iGEM team, which is building a polyphosphate-based energy system for synthetic cells in 2026.

03

Education & CUREs

Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing tradition shapes how we share our tools. We adapt research technologies into hands-on experiences that let students do real science in the classroom.

A student presenting a slide about protein structure and k-mers to an audience

Focus areas

  • The Genetic Code Kit, an open-source cell-free platform for biochemistry and biotechnology education.
  • Engineering Synthetic Cells, a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) built around cell-free systems.
  • Hands-on activities for core chemistry concepts, such as effective nuclear charge.
  • Research Project Compass, a visual framework for planning research strategically.

Selected publications

Courses and teaching materials

The Design, Build, Test, Learn cycle, with Learn leading back to Design DESIGN BUILD TEST LEARN Learn by doing

How we work

Design. Build. Test. Learn.

Every project runs on the same engineering cycle, and students take part in each step.

Get involved

Curious about joining?

We welcome students who want to learn, ask questions, and work collaboratively.

How to get involved