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  • Sensors applied to plant leaves warn of water shortage

  • Disruptive & Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP)

     is one of the five Interdisciplinary Research Groups in the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre. DiSTAP started in January 2018 and is a research programme funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), under its campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme.

    Research Objectives

    Novel Sensors

    Novel Sensors

    study the production of plant hormones and secondary metabolites to improve urban farming and will develop disruptive technologies for discovering plant biosynthetic pathways
    [Read More]

    Urban Farming

    Urban Farming

    develop nano and optical sensors to measure plant metabolites in real time. These sensors will enable optimal production and rapid development of plants suitable for high-density farming
    [Read More]

    Plant Biology

    Plant Biology

    study the production of plant hormones and secondary metabolites to improve urban farming and will develop disruptive technologies for discovering plant biosynthetic pathways
    [Read More]

    Microbial Biosynthesis

    Microbial Biosynthesis

    establish principles for the high-volume production of plant food components, such as amino acids, vitamins, lipids, and other valuable natural products, in industry-relevant microbes
    [Read More]

    More on Research & Development ⇒

  • Principal Investigators

    Michael Strano - MIT

    Michael Strano - MIT

    Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering

    Research: Nanotechnology, Sensors & Plant Nanobionics

    Chua Nam Hai - Singapore

    Chua Nam Hai - Singapore

    Deputy Chairman, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory


    MIT Faculty

    Benedetto Marelli

    Benedetto Marelli

    Assistant Professor, MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Research: bio-inspired materials, self-assembly, mechanical and optical properties, 3D printing, and emerging technologies

    Kristala L. Jones Prather

    Kristala L. Jones Prather

    Arthur D. Little Professor of Chemical Engineering

    Research: metabolic engineering, biochemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, synthetic biology

    Rajeev Ram

    Rajeev Ram

    Professor of Electrical Engineering & EECS

    Former Program Director, ARPA-e



    Anthony Sinskey

    Anthony Sinskey

    Professor of Microbiology and Health Sciences & Technology

    Co-founder of Metabolix, Inc., Telpho, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. etc.

    Gregory Stephanopolous

    Gregory Stephanopolous

    Willard Henry Dow Professor of Chemical Engineering

    Research: Plant Bioprocess Engineering, Metabolic Engineering

    Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory

    In-Cheol Jang

    In-Cheol Jang

    Principal Investigator

    Research: Use DiSTAP sensors to characterize hormonal changes in shade avoidance syndrome and its application for high density urban farming

    Bong Soo Park

    Bong Soo Park

    Research Investigator

    Research : improved nutrition use efficiency in plant and diagnosis of plant nutrient deficiency by Raman spectroscopy


    Rajani Sarojam

    Rajani Sarojam

    Principal Investigator

    Research: Use DiSTAP Sensors to Monitor Neighboring Plant Hormone Response to Release of Aromatic Plant Volatiles and its application in urban farming for integrated disease management

    Daisuke Urano

    Daisuke Urano

    Principal Investigator

    Research: Plant diagnosis with DiSTAP phytohormone sensors




    Zhongchao Yin

    Zhongchao Yin

    Senior Principal Investigator

    Research: Use of DiSTAP Sensors to Select for Best Lines of Genetically Engineered Rice with Low Arsenic (As) and Cadmium (Cd) Accumulation in Seeds

    Other Singapore Collaborators

    Mary B Chan-Park

    Mary B Chan-Park

    Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Co-Director (NTU Food Technology Centre)

    Research: Synthesis and rational design of novel nanosensors for in-vivo plant analytics

    Stella Tan Wei Ling

    Stella Tan Wei Ling

    Associate Professor in practice of NUS Department of Biological Sciences





    Kang Zhou

    Kang Zhou

    Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

    National University of Singapore




    Administration and Management

    Dr. Azlinda Bte Anwar

    Dr. Azlinda Bte Anwar

    Assistant Director (Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory)

    Adjunct Assistant Professor (Duke-NUS Medical School

    Dr. Paul Barone

    Dr. Paul Barone

    Director, BioMAN & CAACB

    MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation

    Dr. Farzad Olfat

    Dr. Farzad Olfat

    Director for Research Facilities (AMR & DiSTAP IRGs in SMART)



    Dr. Gajendra Pratap Singh

    Dr. Gajendra Pratap Singh

    Scientific Director & PI

    Project: Raman spectroscopy of plants

    Dr. Min Hao Wong

    Dr. Min Hao Wong

    Deputy Scientific Director (DiSTAP)

    Staff

    Xiaoyi Cui

    Xiaoyi Cui

    Research Engineer

    Project: Harness alternative splicing components to control gene regulation at RNA processing level and translational level in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

    Qiuchi Pan

    Qiuchi Pan

    Research Engineer

    Project: Engineering microbes to produce vitamins and other value-added chemicals from renewable resources

    Nga Yu Poon

    Nga Yu Poon

    Research Engineer

    Project: Genome reduction of Corynebacterium glutamicum



    Dr. Mervin Ang Chunyi

    Dr. Mervin Ang Chunyi

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    Project: developing novel alternating π-conjugated- amphiphilic A-B co-polymers adsorbed onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)

    Suh In Loh

    Suh In Loh

    Senior Laboratory Technologist

    Project: Maintaining plant strains, production of SWCNT nanoparticles as sensor precursors


    Dr. Khong Duc Thinh

    Dr. Khong Duc Thinh

    Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, NTU

    Project: developing novel alternating π-conjugated- amphiphilic A-B co-polymers adsorbed onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)

    Dr. Xiaoqiang MA

    Dr. Xiaoqiang MA

    Postdoctoral Associate

    Project: Developing open and flexible DNA assembly standard for microbe engineering


    Students

    Kemberly Kay Xuan En

    Kemberly Kay Xuan En

    Final Year Student, NUS

    Project: Raman spectroscopy of Jades for forensic science applications

    Grace Cheng En Hui

    Grace Cheng En Hui

    Final Year Student, NUS

    Project: Raman spectroscopy of paints for forensic science applications

    Fang Ru Koo

    Fang Ru Koo

    Final Year Student, NUS

    Project: Raman spectroscopy of food samples for forensic science applications

    Hong Liang

    Hong Liang

    PhD Student, NUS

    Project: Constructing ethanol utilization pathway (EUP) in Escherichia coli

    Yurou Liu

    Yurou Liu

    PhD Student, NUS

    Project: Using biopolymer to improve microbial production of hydrophobic compounds

    Joshua Seetoh Dewei

    Joshua Seetoh Dewei

    Intern, NUS

    Project: Produce monoterpenoids via microbe engineering for urban farming

    Fabian Pratama Mulia

    Fabian Pratama Mulia

    Intern, NUS

    Project: Produce monoterpenoids via microbe engineering for urban farming

     

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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    Department of Chemical Engineering
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    Cambridge, MA 02139-4307

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