Xiaojun Tian Research Group

Arizona State University (Tempe)

How do gene regulatory circuits and host growth interactions determine robust cellular behavior in synthetic systems? The Tian Lab combines quantitative experiments, synthetic biology, systems biology, and mathematical modeling to uncover design principles of gene regulatory circuits and engineer programmable cellular behaviors. The group studies mechanisms such as growth-mediated dilution, phase separation, and feedback/feedforward control to stabilize synthetic circuits under host growth conditions. Researchers use experimental molecular biology, synthetic circuit design, and computational nonlinear-dynamics modeling to quantify circuit-host interactions and predict circuit behavior across contexts. Ongoing projects document multi-scale engineering of heterogeneity and host-aware synthetic gene circuits supported by recent NIH and NSF awards.