Magdy M. Mahfouz

Faculty

Professor of Bioengineering, Bioscience, and Plant Science | Principal Investigator of the Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology

Location:

B2/R3232

Social Profile:

Biography

Magdy M. Mahfouz received his PhD in Molecular Genetics from Ohio State University (USA) and did an industry-funded postdoctoral training in Microbiology at University of Illinois (USA). His research group focuses on developing genome engineering and synthetic biology technologies and applications for crop bioengineering, biomanufacturing, and diagnostics. He developed key technologies for plant genome engineering, engineering plant immunity, and the synthetic directed evolution of plant traits, as well as novel approaches for pathogen diagnostics. Mahfouz holds several patents in his name and has given invited talks and lectures at leading genome engineering and synthetic biology conferences.

Research Interests

Bioengineering is a multidisciplinary field that depends on the cross-fertilization of knowledge and advances in the diverse fields of biology, molecular biology, computational biology, engineering, and chemistry. It empowers us to harness these advances, translate ideas into products, and address grand challenges facing humanity. Mahfouz’s research group focuses on biomanufacturing, using plants as chassis for bioproduction of select compounds of value, including therapeutics and biopharmaceutical, crop bioengineering using CRISPR systems, and molecular diagnostics of pathogens. The motto of his laboratory, “bioengineering for the future”, encapsulates his ideas, beliefs, and goals.

Selected Publications

Education

  • ​​​​​​PhD, Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 2004
  • MSc, Microbial Genetics, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 1997

KAUST Affiliations