Michael Levin received dual B.S. degrees in biology and computer science, followed by a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Harvard University and a post-doc in cell biology at Harvard Medical School.
His lab currently uses a mix of computer science, developmental biophysics, and behavioral science to understand how cells combine into a tissue-level collective intelligence that solves morphogenetic problems during embryogenesis, regeneration, and cancer suppression. By developing new algorithms and tools for reading and writing information into the proto-cognitive medium of this collective intelligence, the Levin lab drives applications in birth defects, regenerative medicine, and cancer suppression.
The work extends into novel frameworks for understanding diverse intelligence (agency in unconventional substrates including cells, organs, and swarms), and the scaling of cognition. Finally, their work on creating synthetic living organisms has many applications for understanding evolution and for practical advances in AI and robotics.