Tim developed key elements of Engine Bio’s technology platforms and has deep expertise in synthetic and systems biology, genetic interactions mapping, and computer science/engineering. He is an Associate Professor at MIT, the leader of MIT’s RLE Synthetic Biology Group, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Tim is a pioneer in applying synthetic biology to tackle important medical and industrial problems. Among the numerous awards he’s received are the NIH New Innovator Award, the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the NSF CAREER award, and the Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging Award.
In addition to being an accomplished physician-scientist researcher, Tim is a successful entrepreneur, having founded several companies based on his research. Among these include Sample6 Inc. and Synlogic Inc., US-based venture-backed companies using synthetic biology to develop next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics for use in food safety and the human microbiome, respectively. His companies have raised over US$160M of funding in multiple rounds from leading VCs and investors, including Orbimed, Atlas Ventures, NEA, Gates Foundation, 8VC, Seventure, Deerfield, Canaan Partners, and Flybridge; and Sample6 is now supply disruptive synthetic biology-based commercial products to many leading food processors and the US FDA.
Tim received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, his Ph.D. from the Harvard-MIT Sciences and Technology Program, and his S.B. and S.M. from MIT.