In August of 2019, I joined the faculty in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt. My independent research program integrates synthetic biology, regenerative engineering, and stem cell biology to develop cells as therapeutic engines capable of orchestrating tissue development or responding to pathological niches in predefined manners. Our long-term goals are to (1) produce strategies to render cells capable of reliably and robustly restoring organ/tissue function and (2) develop high fidelity models of human tissues as a source for investigating developmental and degenerative disorders. To achieve these aims, we construct synthetic signaling modules to allow cells to interrogate specific features of their niche and autonomously implement selected phenotypic switches, morphogenetic programs, or regenerative subroutines. We also heavily deploy genome/epigenome editing systems to manipulate and dissect signaling networks. My research program thus aims to uncover fundamental cellular activities and regulate versatile functions. Though our approaches and technologies can be applied somewhat agnostically to several physiologic systems, my lab leverages my deep expertise and rich collaborative history to focus our efforts in the areas of synthetic morphogenesis, neurodegeneration, and musculoskeletal diseases. Our technologies position us to make strong contributions toward developing cancer immunotherapies that would benefit from cell engineering strategies.