1/ Excited to share our new paper in Science @science.org: “Toward life with a 19-amino acid alphabet through generative artificial intelligence design.” A great collab w/ Sergey's group @sokrypton.org at MIT @columbiasysbio.bsky.social science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🦠🧬🛠️🖥️💥

Toward life with a 19–amino acid alphabet through generative artificial intelligence design

Because all known living organisms are made from at least 20 canonical amino acids, the feasibility of life using a more simplified alphabet remains unclear. In this work, we leveraged computational d...

science.org

SEED2026 abstract deadline extended to 3/15!! there's still time to submit an abstract for a talk or poster! #SEED2026 #synbio

Harris Wang@harriswang.bsky.social · 5mo ago

SEED 2026 Abstract due in 3 days! We've got an excellent line up of keynotes & invited speakers. Join us to present your work & hear the latest SynBio breakthroughs. A major theme this year is AI+Bio! 🧬🔬🤖💻🦠 synbioconference.org/2026

SEED 2026 Abstract due in 3 days! We've got an excellent line up of keynotes & invited speakers. Join us to present your work & hear the latest SynBio breakthroughs. A major theme this year is AI+Bio! 🧬🔬🤖💻🦠 synbioconference.org/2026

I'm very excited to announce my official appointment as Chair of the Department of Systems Biology at Columbia @columbiauniversity.bsky.social @columbiamed.bsky.social @columbiasysbio.bsky.social. Looking forward to more SysBio growth in NY! systemsbiology.columbia.edu

10 days until the deadline!

Harris Wang@harriswang.bsky.social · 9mo ago

📢 Our Dept. of Systems Biology at Columbia University has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the broad area of quantitative biology. Come join our awesome department in NYC! Please circulate. apply.interfolio.com/177622 Suggested deadline: 12/15/2025. @columbiasysbio.bsky.social

We're excited to help launch the inaugural Gordon research conference on #microbiome editing, coming up in January in Pomona, CA! Learn more and register here: https://ow.ly/a6Am50X9XkE

Highlighting another recent paper from the lab in Science Advances on engineering a gut probiotic to modulate GLP-1 levels and ameliorating colitis. Led by Leonie Brockmann & @carlottaronda.bsky.social . @columbiasysbio.bsky.social @columbiauniversity.bsky.social 🧬🦠💊 www.science.org/doi/full/10....

Engineered probiotic restores GLP-1 signaling to ameliorate fiber-deficiency exacerbated colitis

Engineered probiotic delivers bacterial peptide that enhances GLP-1 and restores barrier integrity in diet-modulated colitis.

science.org

Fecal exfoliome sequencing captures immune dynamics of the healthy and inflamed gut - @harriswang.bsky.social go.nature.com/4i7XnZR

Fecal exfoliome sequencing captures immune dynamics of the healthy and inflamed gut - Nature Biotechnology

Profiling host RNA shed in feces reveals disease states in the gut.

go.nature.com

Introducing Foli-seq in @natbiotech.nature.com today. Foli-seq can be used to measure gut-derived RNA from fecal matter (signals of immune, secretory & epithelial cells). We used this to map gut inflammation, drug response, and host-microbe interactions. 💩🧬💊🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fecal exfoliome sequencing captures immune dynamics of the healthy and inflamed gut - Nature Biotechnology

Profiling host RNA shed in feces reveals disease states in the gut.

nature.com

📢 Our Dept. of Systems Biology at Columbia University has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the broad area of quantitative biology. Come join our awesome department in NYC! Please circulate. apply.interfolio.com/177622 Suggested deadline: 12/15/2025. @columbiasysbio.bsky.social

1/9 Metagenomics lets us read microbiomes in nature without cultivation, but writing (editing) them in their native context is still a major challenge. Meet MetaEdit: a platform for pathway-scale metagenomic editing inside the gut microbiome. science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Metagenomic editing of commensal bacteria in vivo using CRISPR-associated transposases

Although metagenomic sequencing has revealed a rich microbial biodiversity in the mammalian gut, methods to genetically alter specific species in the microbiome are highly limited. Here, we introduce ...

science.org

Very excited to share our latest work in Science on metagenomic editing (MetaEdit) of the gut microbiome in vivo & directly modifying unculturable immune-modulatory SFB bug in the small intestine. 🦠🧬🛠️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Metagenomic editing of commensal bacteria in vivo using CRISPR-associated transposases

Although metagenomic sequencing has revealed a rich microbial biodiversity in the mammalian gut, methods to genetically alter specific species in the microbiome are highly limited. Here, we introduce ...

science.org

Grateful to work with the wonderful @vilcekfoundation.bsky.social and the super talented Hiroki Otsuka on a short manga highlighting our research and my journey as an immigrant scientist! 🧪🦠🧬 vilcek.org/news/microbe...

Biographical Manga Highlights Scientist Harris Wang’s Superhero Microbiome Work

Discover how immigrant scientist Harris Wang, PhD, uses synthetic biology to reprogram gut bacteria in this manga by Hiroki Otsuka.

vilcek.org

Yikes… NIH dropping IC to 15% grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Happy to share our new paper in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social on mapping spatial relationships of the human gut microbiome. We identified distinct spatial hubs between gut bacteria that reflect sub-community assemblies at the micron-scale. Led by Miles Richardson & co. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

SAMPL-seq reveals micron-scale spatial hubs in the human gut microbiome - Nature Microbiology

Split-And-pool Metagenomic Plot-sampling sequencing (SAMPL-seq) can be applied to complex microbial communities to reveal spatial co-localization of microbes at the micron scale.

nature.com

💡💥Here’s a modest proposal I’ve been pondering for a while on how to change the PEER REVIEW process and start more community-driven SCIENCE FUNDING. Lots of feedback/discussion welcomed! Other variants of the idea might exist already—not claiming originality. (a long 🧵) (1/9)

One under-appreciated challenge of mid-career PI’s is that after a decade or more, the big equipments you originally bought all break down and need replacement. People don’t necessarily have discretionary funds at this point and it’s hard to bootstrap through grants.

New paper from the lab out in Cell Systems. “Spatiotemporal dynamics during niche remodeling by super-colonizing microbiota in the mammalian gut” www.cell.com/cell-systems...

Spatiotemporal dynamics during niche remodeling by super-colonizing microbiota in the mammalian gut

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) therapies hold promise but suffer from variable transplantation efficiencies. Here, we examine microbiome spatiotemporal dynamics post-FMT with a super-colonizin...

cell.com