Jerome Bonnet and his group work in the field of synthetic biology, the rational engineering of new biological systems and functions. The group works on cellular programming, the manipulation of cell function through genetic engineering, enabling fine control of cellular behavior.

Living cells detect and process various environmental signals in parallel and can self-replicate, presenting an attractive platform for scalable and affordable autonomous diagnostic devices. They have developed scalable technology platforms for custom sensing and logic programming, equipping bacteria with the ability to perceive and respond to their surroundings. They’ve also showed that bacteria equipped with these devices can detect biomarkers of disease in patient samples. 

Microbes are also emerging as attractive platforms for the diagnosis and targeted treatment of disease. They have recently developed new research line in which we aim to  empower bacteria to  monitor body locations, detect pathological biomarkers, and respond to exogenous signals and produce therapeutic effectors at the right place and at the right time.