She/Her
I am a highly-collaborative synthetic biologist specializing in engineered living materials, with an emphasis on extracellular structures such as surface-layer proteins, secreted materials, biomineralization, and exopolysaccharides. My research aim is to design organisms as renewable, efficient, and autonomous living systems to create impactful and environmentally friendly solutions for biomaterials, resource production, and space exploration.
Favorite scientists: Max Delbrück, Sylvia Earle.
Education: Post-baccalaureate studies, UC Berkeley.
Dual BMus. in Performance and Music Engineering & Production, Berklee College of Music.
mcharrier at rice dot edu
C. Ajo-Franklin Group Publications:
“Genetically Modifying the Protein Matrix of Macroscopic Living Materials to Control Their Structure and Rheological Properties.” E. M. Jimenez, C. Nguyen, A. Shakeel, R. Tesoriero Jr., M. Charrier, A. Stull, C. M. Ajo-Franklin. ACS Synthetic Biology (2024) Special Issue: Materials Design by Synthetic Biology.
“Unlocking the societal potential of engineered living materials.” C. M. Heveran, R. Gerlach, C. J. Hernandez, K. Intemann, A. S. Meyer, C. M. Ajo-Franklin, M. Charrier, W. V. Srubar III, N. Joshi, A. Nelson, M. W. Fields. Matter (2024)
“Precision Engineering of 2D Protein Layers as Chelating Biogenic Scaffolds for Selective Recovery of Rare-Earth Elements“, R. M. Pallares, M. Charrier, S. Tejedor-Sanz, D. Li, P. D. Ashby, C. M. Ajo-Franklin, C. Y. Ralston, R. J. Abergel. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144, 854–861 (2022).
“Engineering high-yield biopolymer secretion creates an extracellular protein matrix for living materials,” M. Charrier, M. T. Orozco-Hidalgo, N. Tjahjono, D. Li, S. Molinari, K. R. Ryan, P. D. Ashby, B. Rad, C. M. Ajo-Franklin. mSystems, 6, e00903-20 (2021). *Editor’s Pick
“Engineering the S-layer of Caulobacter crescentus as a Foundation for Stable, High-Density, 2D Living Materials,” M. Charrier, D. Li, V. Mann, LYun, S. Jani, B. Rad, B. Cohen, P. Ashby, K. Ryan, & C. M. Ajo-Franklin, ACS Synthetic Biology, 8, 181–190 (2019).
* Alternate cover article *Featured in Nature Chemical Biology
“Engineering Thermophilic Microorganisms to Selectively Bind Strategic Metals in Low Temperature Geothermal Brines” M. Charrier and C. M. Ajo-Franklin, PROCEEDINGS, 42nd Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, SGP-TR-212(2017).