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Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

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Leading in Synthetic Biology

Moonshot thinking

Harnessing the power of science and innovation biology to engineer new material solutions, create sustainable technologies for markets, and understand such advances from a societal perspective.

We have the potential to harness the microscopic building blocks of life – genes, molecules, and cells—for major, life-changing impact. With synthetic biology, scientists can program biology for the sustainable production of fuels, foods, medicines, and other next-generation materials critical to fight disease, power society, feed communities, and lower our carbon footprint.

Research Spotlight

Buz Barstow

Buz is engineering a new bacteria in order to make organic molecules, such as biofuels, to build a low-cost, environmentally friendly and large-scale system for storing and retrieving energy from renewable sources.

Learn more about Buz Barstow and his work. 

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Opportunities to support

Faculty, program support & research

CALS globally recognized faculty are the cornerstone of our reputation as a premier institution of scientific learning. Support CALS faculty and graduate students working on a multitude of issues around synthetic biology.

Student support & affordability

Scholarships enable Cornell to recruit and enroll the most promising scholars and garner a diverse student population. CALS supports students to ensure their success through programs such as peer mentoring, E3, CALS navigator, and experiential learning opportunities.

Flexible impact

Establishing a named Moonshot fund or supporting the established Leading in Synthetic Biology Moonshot Fund offers CALS leadership the greatest flexibility to take advantage of innovative and emerging opportunities, and will be used to bolster CALS' strengths in support of initiatives focused on synthetic biology.

Show your support

Make your gift to a moonshot
Two researchers examine slides in a lab.
Joyce Onyenedum, Assistant Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Biology Section, and Postdoctoral researcher Israel L. Cunha Neto, PhD, discuss their research. Credit: Allison Usavage

The impact of giving

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News

Elizabeth Johnson wins inaugural Schwartz visionary grant

Johnson received the inaugural Schwartz Research Fund Visionary Grant, worth $375,000, to support her research that will delve deeply into understanding how human milk nutrients contribute directly to infant gastrointestinal health.

  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Bacteria
  • Microbiology

News

Humans have lost half primate ancestors' gut bacteria

A new study finds that hundreds of bacterial groups have evolved in the guts of primate species over millions of years, but humans have lost close to half of these symbiotic bacteria.

  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Bacteria
  • Food