Engineering Plant Metabolism for Food, Health, and Biomanufacturing
From Plant Metabolism to Real-World Impact
The Voiniciuc Lab combines plant synthetic biology, automation, artificial intelligence, and biochemistry to understand and redesign how plants produce carbohydrates and other valuable natural products.
Our research uncovers the biological mechanisms that control plant metabolism and translates these discoveries into new technologies for agriculture, nutrition, biotechnology, and sustainable manufacturing.
Located at the University of Florida’s main campus in sunny Gainesville, halfway between the Gulf & Atlantic coastline. We are part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), Horticultural Sciences Department and the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate program. We are also affiliated with the Genetics Institute, the Artificial Intelligence Academic Initiative Center, the Food is Medicine Initiative, and the Diabetes Institute.
Research Themes
Glycans for Agriculture, Health, and Materials
🌱 Carbohydrates are the most abundant organic molecules on Earth, and have numerous applications, from ranging from biomaterials to dietary fibers.
Our group investigates how plants and microbes synthesize and break down complex carbohydrates, such as hemicelluloses and pectin. We apply a comprehensive suite of biochemical and microscopic analyses to characterize cell wall components important for plant development, environmental resilience, and plant-based products.
Metabolic Engineering of Natural Products
🧬Plants produce thousands of specialized compounds (e.g. anthocyanins for strawberry fruit color) that contribute to flavor, color, nutrition, stress tolerance, and human health.
We develop strategies to understand and engineer pathways involved in the production of natural products, including alternative sweeteners, anthocyanins, and other bioactive metabolites that can enhance crop value and functionality.
Engineering Superior Plant Enzymes
⚙️ Many valuable plant traits depend on proteins that make and modify molecules, from monomers to highly branched polymers.
Our laboratory combines protein engineering, continuous directed evolution, and AI-guided design to discover and improve enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and other biosynthetic pathways.
Automation for Biological Discovery
🤖 To accelerate research, we developed the BOTany Foundry, a platform centered around affordable laboratory automation.
Through robotic workflows, high-throughput experimentation, and computational tools, we help researchers move faster from biological questions to practical solutions.
Advancing food, health, and biomanufacturing through plant and yeast engineering.