Yoo Kyung Go, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Speaker:

Yoo Kyung Go, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Associate

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Faculty Host: Michelle O'Malley

Title: Multiscale Engineering of Living Systems: From Synthetic Membranes to Whole-Cell Platforms

Abstract: 

Microbial living systems offer powerful platforms for sustainable materials production, energy conversion, and environmental technologies, ranging from wastewater treatment and bioelectricity generation to biosynthesis and sensing. Realizing this potential requires a fundamental understanding of how molecular organization and structural complexity across length scales govern biological function. In nature, coordinated assemblies of lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and other macromolecules define pathways for transport, charge transfer, and chemical reactivity, such that small changes at the molecular or cellular level can strongly influence system-level performance. Yet our ability to engineer these systems remains limited by challenges in connecting multiscale structure to function, integrating design across molecular, cellular, and system scales, and characterizing dynamic, out-of-equilibrium biological processes. My research integrates soft matter science, bioelectrochemistry, and advanced characterization-including X-ray scattering, spectroscopy, and imaging-to establish design principles linking molecular organization to function from synthetic materials to living cells. In this talk, I will first present fundamental molecular engineering strategies in synthetic model systems, such as polymer-lipid hybrid membranes, to illustrate how intermolecular interactions give rise to emergent material properties. I will then show how these principles extend to living systems, where membrane mechanics in electroactive microbes governs extracellular electron transfer, a central process in microbial electrochemistry and bioelectronic technologies. Building on these insights, I will discuss engineered whole-cell platforms for sustainable bioproduction, including microbial electrosynthesis and emerging living materials enabled by microbial polymer production and biomineralization. Together, these studies define transferable design principles connecting molecular organization, cellular mechanics, and system-level function, enabling the rational design of programmable living systems for sustainable materials and energy applications.

Bio:

Yoo Kyung Go is a Postdoctoral Associate in Chemical Engineering at MIT in Prof. Ariel Furst's group. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Prof. Cecilia Leal, and her B.S. and M.S. from Seoul National University. Her research program aims to establish multiscale design principles that connect molecular engineering in synthetic membranes to functional control in whole-cell systems, enabling sustainable microbial electrosynthesis and programmable living materials. She has been recognized as a 2025 Rising Star in Chemical Engineering and a 2024 Rising Star in Materials Science and Engineering.