Tara L. Deans
Areas of Research
Cancer Technologies , Immunoengineering , Synthetic Biology , Biomedical Informatics & Systems ModelingContact
Whitaker, Suite 4109Georgia TechBiography
Dr. Tara Deans is an Associate Professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory Universities. She received her PhD from Boston University in Biomedical Engineering and did her postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses on building genetic tools to study the mechanisms of stem cell differentiation for the purpose of directing cell fate decisions. She is the recipient of several awards including the NSF CAREER Award, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award, the NIH Trailblazer Award, and the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. Dr. Deans holds a number of issued patents, some of which have been licensed by biotech companies.
Education
- Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering - Boston University
- B.S. in Biology - Washington State University
Research Interests
Synthetic biology has transformed how cells can be programmed, providing a means to reliably and predictably control cell behavior with the assembly of genetic parts into more complex synthetic gene circuits. Using these approaches, we are programming stem cells with genetic tools to control genes and pathways that result in changes in their native function for desired outcomes. We are particularly interested in building genetic tools to define the molecular rules governing hematopoietic cell fate transitions and the dynamic processes that guide stem cell differentiation. We have also shown that megakaryocytes, the progenitor cells for platelets, can be programmed and loaded with non-native proteins to produce engineered platelets that function as local and systemic delivery devices.