Laura H. McCulloch
Papers
2
Total Citations
62
H-Index
2
About
Laura H. McCulloch is a pioneering synthetic biologist whose work pushes the boundaries of large-scale DNA design and assembly. Her primary research focuses on the de novo synthesis and functional delivery of megabase-scale mammalian genes—a field that bridges genomics, bioengineering, and gene therapy. Her landmark 2021 study, cited 55 times, achieved the de novo assembly and successful delivery of a 101 kb functional human gene into mouse cells, demonstrating that entire human genes can be built from scratch and expressed in a living organism. This work directly addresses two major challenges in synthetic genomics: scaling up DNA synthesis to mammalian complexity and ensuring efficient delivery into cells. A related 2018 paper laid the groundwork for these breakthroughs. McCulloch’s contributions are transformative, offering new tools for studying gene function, modeling human diseases, and advancing synthetic biology toward therapeutic applications. Her achievements highlight the potential of bottom-up genome engineering to unlock insights into human biology and open doors to novel gene-based treatments.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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