https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/disha-shukla/index.htmlAbout me I’m Disha, a Biotechnology undergraduate fascinated by the idea that biology can be engineered into a manufacturing system. I’m particularly interested in synthetic biology, immunotherapies, and the ways we can program cells to make materials, therapeutics, and other useful products. My curiosity lies at the intersection of biology and engineering: understanding how we can go from a biological idea to a functioning, scalable manufacturing process. I’ve explored areas including genetic circuits, protein engineering, biomaterials for cancer immunotherapy, and microbial systems through different academic and research projects.Hugoenhttps://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/disha-shukla/week-01-hw-project-ideas/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/disha-shukla/week-01-hw-project-ideas/index.html(1) What I Would Like to Biomanufacture and Why Target product: A freeze-dried, paper-embedded cell-free diagnostic reagent that produces a visible colorimetric signal in the presence of Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS) nucleic acid from a vaginal or rectal swab collected at 35–37 weeks of gestation. To be precise about what is being manufactured here: the product is not a drug or a biomaterial but a sensing reagent - a biological system preserved on paper, distributed to a clinic, and activated by patient sample material. The living system’s job is to make that reagent, not to operate inside a patient in real time. This distinction matters, and it is why a cell-free biomanufacturing approach is particularly well-matched to this application.https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/disha-shukla/final-project/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://pages.htgaa.org/2026b/disha-shukla/final-project/index.html