Benjamin Woolston
Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
Office
- 223 Cullinane
- 617.373.5560
Lab
- 006 Mugar
Related Links
Research Focus
Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for sustainable biochemical production and human health
About
Joined the Chemical Engineering department in January 2020.
Education
- PhD in Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017
- BSc in Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 2011
Honors & Awards
- Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering within the International Metabolic Engineering Society
Professional Affiliations
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Research Overview
Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for sustainable biochemical production and human health
Renewable Biochemical Production with Acetogenic Microbes
Biological production of chemicals and fuels can offer many environmental benefits, from pollution prevention to greenhouse gas capture and sequestration. Acetogenic microbes are a diverse group of ancient anaerobic bacteria that metabolize single carbon substrates such as carbon monoxide, methanol, and formic acid. These substrates have recently emerged as attractive feedstocks for bioprocessing because they do not compete with food supply, and can be produced directly from carbon dioxide using renewable energy. Using tools from metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and protein biochemistry, we are investigating fundamental questions about the metabolism of acetogens, as well as engineering them to produce valuable biofuels and biochemicals using single carbon substrates.
Interrogating Microbial Metabolism in Human Gut Microbiota with Engineered Microbes
In recent years, the gut microbiota has emerged as an important factor in human health, and interactions between host and microbial cells mediated by small-molecule microbial metabolites play a role in regulating the immune system, gastrointestinal diseases and certain cancers, and a communication network between the brain and gut (gut-brain-axis) that affects neurodegeneration and mood. Studying the role of these metabolites in disease is complicated by the lack of robust methods to determine and modulate their local concentration in the gut. We are tackling this problem using synthetic biology methods to engineer commensal bacteria to sense and precisely modulate specific metabolites in vivo. Applications of these engineered microbes may give insight into disease pathways, impact of specific metabolites on the gut ecosystem, and a better mechanistic understanding of bacteria-host interactions.
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- Woolston, Benjamin M., Stephanopoulos, Gregory (2020). Engineering E. coli to Grow on Methanol. Joule, 4(10),2070-2072. 10.1016/J.JOULE.2020.09.019
- D.F. Emerson, B.M. Woolston, N. Liu, M. Donnelly, D.H. Currie, G. Stephanopoulos, Enhancing Hydrogen‐Dependent Growth of and Carbon Dioxide Fixation by Clostridium Ljungdahlii Through Nitrate Supplementation, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 116(2), 2019, 294-306
- T.B. Roth, B.M. Woolston, G. Stephanopoulos, D.R. Liu, Phage-Assisted Evolution of Bacillus methanolicus Methanol Dehydrogenase 2, ACS Synthetic Biology, 8(4), 2019, 796-806
- B.M. Woolston, T. Roth, I. Kohale, D.R. Liu, G. Stephanopoulos, Development of a Formaldehyde Biosensor with Application to Synthetic Methylotrophy, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2018
- B.M. Woolston, J.R. King, M. Reiter, B. Van Hove, G. Stephanopoulos, Improving Formaldehyde Consumption Drives Methanol Assimilation in Engineered E. Coli, Nature Communications, 9(1), 2018, 2387
- B.M. Woolston, D.F. Emerson, D.H. Currie, G. Stephanopoulos, Rediverting Carbon Flux in Clostridium Ljungdahlii Using CRISPR Interference (CRISPRi), Metabolic Engineering, 48, 2018, 243-253
Jul 07, 2022
Using Spark Fund Award for Sustainable Biofuel Production
ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston is using the Spark Funds he received earlier this year to make sustainable biofuel production available to be commercialized.
Jul 06, 2022
Announcing the new MS in Pharmaceutical Engineering at Northeastern University
The College of Engineering and Bouve College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University are offering a new Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Engineering. Both colleges began to recognize the growing need in the pharmaceutical sector for people that have both an engineering background as well as understand the regulatory environment of the pharmaceutical industry. “The […]
May 18, 2022
Announcing Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.
Feb 04, 2022
Announcing Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Spring 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.
Jan 27, 2022
2022 Spark Fund Awardees
BioE Professor Jeff Ruberti, ECE Assistant Professor Aatmesh Shrivastava, ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston, and MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng are recipients of Spark Fund Awards, which help Northeastern researchers bridge the gap between promising lab results and demonstrating a commercially viable prototype.
Dec 22, 2021
Developing Advanced Genetic Engineering Methods
ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston’s proposal for “Development of a Robust Genome Engineering Toolbox for the Model Acetogen Eubacterium limosum” was accepted by the DOE’s Joint Genome Institute’s Community Science Program.
Aug 03, 2021
2021 Acorn Innovation Awards
ECE Research Assistant Professor Yousof Naderi, Professor Kaushik Chowdhury, Assistant Professor Aatmesh Shrivastava, and ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston received Acorn Innovation Fund Awards which help in the commercialization of scientific breakthroughs in Massachusetts.
Jun 28, 2021
Woolston Receives B&B Daniel I.C Wang Award
ChE Assistant Professor Ben Woolston is the recipient of the 2021 Daniel I.C. Wang Award. The Award is sponsored by Biotechnology & Bioengineering and initiated in 2008 to honor a younger member of their dynamic community. In order to be eligible for this award, applicants must be: Published in Biotechnology and Bioengineering in the last 3 […]
Jun 07, 2021
Summer 2021 PEAK Experiences Awardees
Congratulations to the COE student recipients of the Summer 2021 PEAK Experiences Awards. The PEAK Experiences Awards are a progressively structured sequence of opportunities designed to support learners as they continue climbing to new heights of achievement in undergraduate research and creative endeavor throughout their Northeastern journeys. BASE CAMP AWARDS Ana Salichs, E’22, “Colorimetric Assays […]
Jan 19, 2021
Woolston Received the Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering
ChE Assistant Professor Benjamin Woolston is the 2020 recipient of the Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering within the International Metabolic Engineering Society (IMES).