We are a synthetic and chemical biology lab applying metabolic engineering principles to the production of high-value compounds in heterologous hosts. Focusing on natural products from the terpenoid class, we use AI-driven exploration of natural product chemical space to design natural product–like analogs that are amenable to enzymatic production and downstream biological evaluation. By combining computational generation of new terpenoid scaffolds with enzyme engineering and pathway optimization, we aim to discover novel biological activities and create molecules with improved properties for drug discovery applications. We use yeast as our chassis of choice to advance precision fermentation from lab bench to industrial scale, providing a versatile platform for AI-guided discovery and optimization of bioactive small molecules. Our research is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating molecular biosciences, chemistry, multi-omics/bioinformatics, structural biology, and AI to address challenges in drug discovery and chemical biology.
Founded in 2020 at McGill University, Ignea Lab has rapidly brought together many students passionate about changing the world through Synthetic Biology
We believe in making our working environment more diverse and inclusive for successful research.
McGill University is situated on the unceded territories of the Indigenous People, Kanien'keha:ka (Ga-niyen-ge-haa-ga). The Kanien'keha:ka are the keepers of the Eastern Door of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This island known as Montreal is known as Tio’tia:ke (Gio-Jaw-Gé) in the language of the Kanien’kehá:ka, and has historically served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst many First Nations including the Kanien’kehà:ka of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg. We recognize and respect the Kanien’kehà:ka as the traditional custodians of the lands and waters on which we meet today. We understand and work against the ways in which colonial violence manifests in all facets of life, including but not limited to, exclusion and marginalization within academia, which has and continues to be used as weapons of colonialism.