Joo-Young Lee
I am a postdoc exploring a human middle ear microbiome to find beneficial microbes for further application. My research interest and background are molecular microbiology, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.
I am a postdoc exploring a human middle ear microbiome to find beneficial microbes for further application. My research interest and background are molecular microbiology, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.
Dr. Wheeldon is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). He is also the director of UCR’s Center for Industrial Biotechnology. Dr. Wheeldon received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University in 2009 and completed two years of postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. He received a Master’s of Applied Science from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Bachelor’s of Applied Science from Queen’s University, Canada. Dr. Wheeldon’s laboratory focuses on synthetic biology for chemical synthesis.
Dr. Tara Deans received her PhD from Boston University in Biomedical Engineering. Following her postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins University, she became an Assistant Professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Utah. Currently, Dr. Deans runs an applied mammalian synthetic biology laboratory where her lab focuses on building novel genetic tools to study the mechanisms of stem cell differentiation for the purpose of directing their cell fate decisions. Recently, Dr. Deans received three prestigious awards to support this area of research: the NSF CAREER Award, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award, and the NIH Trailblazer Award. In addition to her research, Dr. Deans was recently named a STEM Ambassador in the STEM Ambassador Program (STEMAP) at the University of Utah to engage underrepresented groups in STEM fields.
When I began my undergraduate career, I was interested in joining the medical field as a physician. Once I was introduced to the lab research setting, however, I realized that I could have an equally impactful contribution to the medical field through my passion for biology and chemistry. My interests in microbiology introduced me to the concept of using microorganisms as miniature “chemical factories” that could produce a wide variety of compounds given the right genetic “wiring”. In addition to this concept, I became fascinated with the emerging understanding of the microbiome (the native community of microbes that continually live on and within us) and its effects on human health.
Over the past decade, the complexity of human-microbiome interactions has been a major focus of many research groups. Surprisingly, the microbiome has been found to have significant effects on immunity & disease susceptibility, hormonal balance, nutrition, and even behavior to name a few. When I came to Purdue, I decided that I wanted to pursue the challenge of merging these concepts: making native communities of “chemical factories” that could be exploited to improve health. Purdue’s Interdisciplinary Life Science (PULSe) program has provided me exposure to several faculty and departments on campus that can provide me with the necessary tools and skills needed to achieve my goals. Because the PULSe program has faculty in many areas of life science research such as molecular microbiology, bioinformatics, and analytical chemistry, it has not only allows me the opportunity to collaborate with experts on campus but also to gain expertise in several interdisciplinary aspects myself.
Todd J. Treangen, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of
Computer Science at Rice University. Prior to joining Rice, Dr. Treangen was
a Research Scientist at the University of Maryland College Park and led the
Bioinformatics group at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures
Center (NBACC) in Frederick, MD. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science
in 2008 from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain). His
research group focuses on solving large-scale computational problems
specific to computational biology, with focus on developing robust software
tools targeted towards biothreat screening, infectious disease monitoring,
and microbial forensics.
Elizabeth A. Pitts is an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Composition, Literacy, Pedagogy, and Rhetoric program. She received her PhD in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media from North Carolina State University with a minor in Genetic Engineering and Society, and she also holds a BA and MA in English from Georgetown University.
Elizabeth’s research blends rhetorical theory, organizational studies, and science studies to examine how technologies influence the nature of professional work and professional identity. Her current book project offers insights into a movement to make the coding of DNA as pervasive as the coding of software. By drawing parallels between the composition of genetically engineered organisms and the composition of persuasive speech and writing, the book facilitates humanistic inquiry into the material practices undertaken in laboratories.
Elizabeth enjoys interdisciplinary collaboration and has co-authored with geneticists, ecologists, and policy scholars. Her work is informed by her decade of experience as a professional writer and speechwriter at the White House, the US Department of Education, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.