Contact
Email (primary): fangba@tamu.edu
Email (secondary): bafang@alumni.shanghaitech.edu.cn
Personal CV
pdf version
(Last update: November 27, 2025)
Employment
Postdoctoral Researcher (Oct. 2024 - Present, Texas A&M University) Link
Major: TBA
Supervisor: Dr. Qing Sun (孙青)
Education
PhD degree (Sep. 2019 - Jul. 2024, ShanghaiTech University) Link
Major: Materials Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Dr. Jian Li (李健)
Bachelor degree (Sep. 2015 - Jun. 2019, ShanghaiTech University) Link
Major: Biological Science
Supervisor: Dr. Yanfen Liu (刘艳芬)
Visiting student (Jan. 2018 - May 2018, University of California, Berkeley)
Project: Berkeley Biosciences Study Abroad (BBSA) Program
Acknowledgements
Prof. Chao Zhong (钟超): PI of iGEM 2016, supervised on engineered living materials and artificial photosynthesis. Link
Dr. Yan Nie (聂焱): Instructor of iGEM 2016, supervised on ACEMBL tool. Link Advisor of iGEM 2017. Link
Dr. Shengjie Ling (凌盛杰) and Dr. Yifan Liu (刘一凡): Co-corresponding authors of Advanced Materials (2023). Link
Research Interests
Synthetic Biology: genetic circuit design, metabolic engineering, chassis modification, engineered living materials, cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), living therapeutics
Selected Publications (First or Co-First Author)
Trends in Biotechnology (2025)
Title: Chromoproteins: Visible Tools for Advancing Synthetic Biology
In this Opinion article, we provide a comprehensive overview of recent progress in chromoprotein-based research related to synthetic biology, highlighting their physicochemical properties, detailed classification, engineering strategies, and emerging applications. This paper was published on Trends in Biotechnology Link.
Cell Systems (2025)
Title: Integrase Enables Synthetic Intercellular Logic via Bacterial Conjugation
In this work, we present a versatile strategy for integrase-mediated intercellular DNA messaging and regulation, combining bacterial conjugation-based horizontal gene transfer with programmed genetic circuits. This approach enables DNA messaging, logic processing, and phenotype modulation in hierarchical E. coli strains, offering new avenues for microbial community programming. This work was published on Cell Systems Link.
Advanced Materials (2023)
Title: Embedding Living Cells with a Mechanically Reinforced and Functionally Programmable Hydrogel Fiber Platform
In this work, we established a structure–property–function optimized living hydrogel fiber platform. In details, we reconstructed the genetic circuits of living bacteria to express chromoproteins and fluorescent proteins as two prototypes that enabled the coloration of living fibers and sensing water pollutants by monitoring the amount of fluorescent protein expressed. This work was published on Advanced Materials Link.
Advanced Science (2023)
Title: Engineering Escherichia coli to Utilize Erythritol as Sole Carbon Source
In this work, we successfully engineered E. coli to respond erythritol as a molecule via protein eryD and its characterized 26 bp eryD binding site (eryO). Meanwhile, engineered E. coli could also utilize erythritol as sole carbon source. This work was published on Advanced Science Link.
Nucleic Acids Research (2022)
Title: SYMBIOSIS: Synthetic Manipulable Biobricks via Orthogonal Serine Integrase Systems
In this work, we utilized serine integrases to create a “Keys match locks” module, such biological part enabled an exponential manipulation of “N” inputs to “2N-1” outputs in vivo. Also, we successfully established a serine integrase-based in vitro plasmid assembly approach. This work was published on Nucleic Acids Research Link, and recommended by “Faculty Opinions (F1000)” as the highest level (three stars) Link.
Full Publication List
#Corresponding Author, ^Equal Contribution
Fang Ba, Qing Sun#. Chromoproteins: Visible Tools for Advancing Synthetic Biology. Trends in Biotechnology, Online Now, doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.10.020 (2025). Link
Relevant reports: 遇见生物合成,iChemEng
Fang Ba^, Yufei Zhang^, Luyao Wang^, Xiangyang Ji, Wan-Qiu Liu, Shengjie Ling, Jian Li#. Integrase Enables Synthetic Intercellular Logic via Bacterial Conjugation. Cell Systems, 16, 101268 (2025). Link
Relevant reports: 遇见生物合成, 上海科技大学, 上海临床研究中心, 微信公众号——上科大物质学院, 合成生物, 合成生物学应用, 微生物代谢工程与合成生物学Lab, 合成生物学应用-2, 细菌代谢与调控
Fang Ba, Yufei Zhang, Luyao Wang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jian Li#. Blue-Purple Evaluation: Chromoproteins Facilitate the Identification of BioBrick Compatibility. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 122, 233-241 (2025). Link
Fang Ba, Yufei Zhang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jian Li#. Rainbow Screening: Chromoproteins Enable Visualized Molecular Cloning. Biotechnology Journal, 19, 2400114 (2024). Link
- Selected as Wiley China Excellent Author Program: 上海科技大学, 微信公众号——上科大物质学院
Fang Ba, Yufei Zhang, Xiangyang Ji, Wan-Qiu Liu, Shengjie Ling, Jian Li#. Expanding the Toolbox of Probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 for Synthetic Biology. Biotechnology Journal, 19, 2300327 (2024). Link
Selected as editor’s choice
- 10% top viewed article in 2023
Luyao Wang, Yufei Zhang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Fang Ba#, Jian Li# Serine Integrase-based Recombination Enables Direct Plasmid Assembly In Vivo. Synthetic Biology and Engineering, 1, 10017 (2023). Link
Fang Ba, Yufei Zhang, Luyao Wang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jian Li#. Applications of Serine Integrases in Synthetic Biology over the Past Decade. SynBio, 1, 172-189 (2023). Link
Fang Ba, Xiangyang Ji, Shuhui Huang, Yufei Zhang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Yifan Liu, Shengjie Ling, Jian Li#. Engineering Escherichia coli to Utilize Erythritol as Sole Carbon Source. Advanced Science, 10, 2207008 (2023). Link
Relevant reports: 上海科技大学, ShanghaiTech University, 科学网, 中国科学报, 腾讯网, MIT科技评论, 热心肠日报, 新浪财经, 新浪科技, 爱科学, 发酵工业网, 微信公众号——上海科技大学, 微信公众号——ShanghaiTech Global, 微信公众号——上科大物质学院, 微信公众号——遇见生物合成, 微信公众号——生辉, 微信公众号——生辉SynBio, 微信公众号——DeepTech深科技, 微信公众号——万物生物合成, 微信公众号——食品放大镜, 微信公众号——生命科学修道院.
- 10% top viewed article in 2023
Fang Ba, Yushi Liu, Wan-Qiu Liu, Xintong Tian, Jian Li#. SYMBIOSIS: Synthetic Manipulable Biobricks via Orthogonal Serine Integrase Systems. Nucleic Acids Research, 50, 2973-2985 (2022). Link
Relevant reports: Faculty Opinions F1000, 上海科技大学, 微信公众号——上海科技大学, 微信公众号——上科大物质学院, 微信公众号——上科大科技发展, 微信公众号——遇见生物合成, 微信公众号——iSynBio造物.
- F1000 highlight
Ruoxuan Peng^,Fang Ba^, Jie Li^, Jiayi Cao, Rong Zhang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jing Ren, Yifan Liu#, Jian Li#, Shengjie Ling#. Embedding Living Cells with a Mechanically Reinforced and Functionally Programmable Hydrogel Fiber Platform. Advanced Materials, 35, 2305583 (2023). Link
Relevant reports: 上海科技大学, 南方周末——2023年度十大科创突破, 知耕TechCube, 微信公众号——上科大物质学院, 微信公众号——上科大科技发展, 微信公众号——高分子科技, 微信公众号——遇见生物合成, 微信公众号——材料科学前沿, 微信公众号——今日纺丝, 微信公众号——i科创力.
Luyao Wang^, Fang Ba^, Yufei Zhang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jian Li#. Establishing a Serine Integrase-Based Genetic Memory System In Vitro. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 122, 1873-1884 (2025). Link
Yufei Zhang, Fang Ba, Shuhui Huang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jian Li#. Orthogonal Serine Integrases Enable Scalable Gene Storage Cascades in Bacterial Genome. ACS Synthetic Biology, 13, 3022-3031 (2024). Link
Wan-Qiu Liu^, Xiangyang Ji^, Fang Ba, Yufei Zhang, Huiling Xu, Shuhui Huang, Xiao Zheng, Yifan Liu#, Shengjie Ling#, Michael C. Jewett#, Jian Li#. Cell-Free Biosynthesis and Engineering of Ribosomally Synthesized Lanthipeptides. Nature Communications, 15, 4336 (2024). Link
Ying Liu, Shuhui Huang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Fang Ba, Yifan Liu, Shengjie Ling, Jian Li#. An In Vitro Hybrid Biocatalytic System Enabled by a Combination of Surface-Displayed, Purified, and Cell-Free Expressed Enzymes. ACS Synthetic Biology, 13, 1434-1441 (2024). Link
Shuhui Huang, Fang Ba, Wan-Qiu Liu, Jian Li#. Stapled NRPS Enhances the Production of Valinomycin in Escherichia coli. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 120, 793-802 (2023). Link
Yushi Liu, Fang Ba, Wan-Qiu Liu, Changzhu Wu, Jian Li#. Plug-and-Play Functionalization of Protein–Polymer Conjugates for Tunable Catalysis Enabled by Genetically Encoded “Click” Chemistry. ACS Catalysis, 12, 4165-4174 (2022). Link
Luyao Li^, Rong Zhang^, Long Chen, Xintong Tian, Ting Li, Bingchun Pu, Conghui Ma, Xiangyang Ji, Fang Ba, Chenwei Xiong, Yunfeng Shi, Xianqiang Mi, Jian Li#, Jay D. Keasling, Jingwei Zhang#, Yifan Liu#. Permeability-Engineered Compartmentalization Enables In Vitro Reconstitution of Sustained Synthetic Biology Systems. Advanced Science, 9, 2203652 (2022). Link
Ailin Zhou, Yi Liu, Fang Ba, Chao Zhong#. Construction and Engineering Application of Bacterial Quorum Sensing Elements. Synthetic Biology Journal (in Chinese), 2, 234 (2021). Link
Xinyu Wang^, Jiahua Pu^, Yi Liu, Fang Ba, Mengkui Cui, Ke Li, Yu Xie, Yan Nie, Qixi Mi, Tao Li, Lingli Liu, Manzhou Zhu, Chao Zhong#. Immobilization of Functional Nano-Objects in Living Engineered Bacterial Biofilms for Catalytic Applications. National Science Review, 6, 929-943 (2019). Link
Jiaofang Huang^, Suying Liu^, Chen Zhang^, Xinyu Wang, Jiahua Pu, Fang Ba, Shuai Xue, Haifeng Ye, Tianxin Zhao, Ke Li, Yanyi Wang, Jicong Zhang, Lihua Wang, Chunhai Fan, Timothy K. Lu, Chao Zhong#.Programmable and Printable Bacillus subtilis Biofilms as Engineered Living Materials. Nature Chemical Biology, 15, 34-41 (2019). Link
Jacob Beal^, Traci Haddock-Angelli^, Geoff Baldwin^, Markus Gershater, Ari Dwijayanti, Marko Storch, Kim De Mora, Meagan Lizarazo, Randy Rettberg, with the iGEM Interlab Study Contributors (Fang Ba). Quantification of Bacterial Fluorescence Using Independent Calibrants. PLoS One, 13, e0199432 (2018). Link
Xinyu Wang^, Jiahua Pu^, Bolin An^, Yingfeng Li, Yuequn Shang, Zhijun Ning, Yi Liu, Fang Ba, Jiaming Zhang, Chao Zhong#. Programming Cells for Dynamic Assembly of Inorganic Nano-Objects with Spatiotemporal Control. Advanced Materials, 30, 1705968 (2018). Link
Patents
- (Chinese Patent) Jian Li, Fang Ba, Wan-Qiu Liu. CN202111336469.9 (Under Review).
- (Chinese Patent) Jian Li, Yufei Zhang, Wan-Qiu Liu, Fang Ba. CN202310605206.6 (Under Review).
Honors and Awards
2024 Outstanding Graduate (Top 10%) 2024, ShanghaiTech University.
2023 Outstanding Student (Top 5%) 2022-2023, ShanghaiTech University.
2023 Merit Poster Award, 8th Shanghai Syn-Bio Alliance Annual Meeting & 2023 Developmental Frontier. Link
2022 Outstanding Student (Top 5%) 2021-2022, ShanghaiTech University.
2022 Faculty Opinions (F1000) Recommended the Manuscript (Fang Ba, and Jian Li# et al. Nucleic Acids Research, 2022) as Highest Level with Three Stars. Link
2019 Outstanding Graduate (Top 10%) 2019, ShanghaiTech University.
2018 Outstanding Student (Top 5%) 2017-2018, ShanghaiTech University.
2018 iGEM 2018 (Worked as Team Advisor): Gold Medal. Link
2017 Merit Student (Top 10%) 2016-2017, ShanghaiTech University.
2017 iGEM 2017 (Worked as Team Leader): Gold Medal, Best Hardware (Sole), Nominated for Best Foundational Advance Project, Nominated for Best Education & Public Engagement, Nominated for Best New Composite Part, Nominated for Safety Commendation. Link
2016 Merit Student (Top 10%) 2015-2016, ShanghaiTech University.
2016 iGEM 2016 (Worked as Team Member): Gold Medal. Link
Peer Review Contributions
Nature Communications, 15, 3338 (2024): Reviewer #2 Link
Synthetic and Systems Biotechnology (2024)
Bioresource Technology Reports (2024)
Trends in Biotechnology (2024)
Molecules (2024)
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25, 12395 (2024): Reviewer #2 Link
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2024)
Sustainability, 16, 11151 (2024): Reviewer #2 Link
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2024)
Nucleic Acids Research (co-review) (2024)
Microbiology Research (2024)
SynBio, 3, 4 (2024): Reviewer #1 Link
Bioresource Technology (2025)
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2025)
Communications Biology (2025) Reviewer #1 Link
Molecules (2025)
Metabolic Engineering Communications (2025)
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2025)
Life (2025)
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2025)
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2025)
Molecules (2025): Reviewer #1 Link
SynBio (2025)
International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2025)
Fermentation (2025): Reviewer #3 Link
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2025)
SynBio (2025)
Applied Microbiology (2025)
STAR Protocols (2025)
Trends in Biotechnology (2025)
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2025)
STAR Protocols (2025)
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2025)
International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2025)
BMC Biotechnology (2025)
Molecules (2025)
Scientific Reports (2025)
Bioengineering (2025)
Discover Bacteria (2025)