In this episode of DeanCast, we sit down with Dr. Margaret Saha, Chancellor Professor of Applied Science at William & Mary, to explore how living systems adapt, heal, and thrive in an unpredictable world. From her unconventional journey studying history to developmental biology, Margaret shares how a fascination with discovery led her to question how organisms maintain robustness and plasticity, and how those same principles might help us engineer biology for the future.

Margaret discusses her groundbreaking work with frog embryos, whose remarkable ability to reorganize and regenerate tissues offers clues for repairing the human nervous system. She explains how advances in synthetic biology and AI are opening new possibilities for programming cells to regenerate damaged tissues, clean up environmental pollutants, and create smarter medicines. The conversation also explores William & Mary’s leadership in hands-on biological research through programs such as Phage Lab and iGEM, where students tackle real-world challenges using interdisciplinary approaches that span biology, computing, engineering, and public policy. Ultimately, Margaret argues that biology is entering a new era—one where understanding how life builds and repairs itself may help address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges.