My name is Fankang Meng, and I am now a PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London. I am now the founder of two synthetic biology-related companies: Regenesis and Bio-Tampon. I was also the team leader, advisor, instructor and PI of many iGEM teams from 2015-2021. My dream is to engineer living organisms to solve problems humans face and apply synthetic biology to help us become a multi-planet civilization.
I am a graduate student in Caleb Bashor’s lab at Rice University, in the Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology (SSPB) program. I’m broadly interested in synthetic biology, but have a particular interest in the development of platforms for high throughput analysis and screening of genetic parts and circuits. I have a background in electrical engineering and biochemical engineering, as a result of which I have an active interest in the computational and hardware side of things as well, ranging from microscopes and microfluidic chip fabrication to 3D printers and large bioreactors. I’m also a gamer and enjoy playing FIFA on the weekends and watching live soccer matches.
Hi there, I currently live in London, having moved here from Austria 5 years ago. I did my BSc in Biochemistry and wrote my thesis in mathematical biology. I then did my Masters in Systems and Synthetic Biology, and am now in my first PhD year. Throughout my BSc and Masters I participated in lots of SynBio competitions, including BIOMOD (DNA nanotech competition at UCSF), iGEM and a start-up competition at Imperial. I am also on the steering committee of SynBioUK (synbiouk.org) and the vice president of SynBIC (synthetic biology society at Imperial College London). When I’m not engineering biology I love to surf, play lacrosse or climb. Looking forward to joining the community!
I am a PhD student at the Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) Bielefeld working in xenobiology and synthetic biology research. I am an enthusiastic educator who integrates teaching biosecurity risks in life-sciences study curricula and synthetic biology competitions. Currently, I am a member of the iGEM Safety and Security Committee and run the Ethics, Biosafety and Biosecurity program for the international directed evolution competition.
I am interested in synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and nature. Im a student in James Carothers lab at the university of Washington working on CRISPR based transcriptional controls in CFS, E. coli, and yeast. My undergraduate education was in Bio-Physics, Chemistry, and Biochemistry. Before grad-school I worked with protein nanopores for DNA sequencing and single molecule enzyme kinetics in Jens Gundlach’s lab at the university of Washington.
I am a postdoc in the Seelig Lab at UW. I’m using massively parallel reporter assays and deep learning methods to engineer synthetic biological systems in human cells. I obtained my PhD in Bioengineering at Rice University, where I worked in optogenetics and B. subtilis synthetic biology. As an undergrad, I studied Mechatronics Engineering at Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria in Lima, Peru, where I am from.
Bachelor’s (John Carroll University) and Ph.D. (SUNY-Environmental Science & Forestry) in Biochemistry. Worked at LanzaTech as part of the Synthetic Biology team since 2014. Focus on enzymology-related research as well as regulatory efforts.
I completed my PhD in 2020 at the University of Texas at Austin, in the labs of Dr. Nancy Moran and Dr. Jeffrey Barrick. In my PhD, I developed and applied new tools to engineer the gut microbiome of honey bees. I am now a postdoctoral scholar advised by Dr. Nancy Moran, and I am continuing my work to understand and manipulate symbiont communities for human benefit, especially the gut communities of insects.
I studied biology in Firenze, Italy before moving to London, UK for a Master of Research in Systems and Synthetic Biology. I spent 5 more years in London doing my PhD with Prof. Tom Ellis on developing new high-thoughput DNA assembly strategies before moving to Boston, MA to join the MIT-Broad Foundry.
I got my master degree in Northwestern University, Biotechnology program. During that time, I worked with Professor Danielle Tullman-Ercek. My focus was laboratory evolutionary experiment and the goal is to engineer Salmonella enterica, which can grow fast with only 1 2-propanediol as carbon source.
Right now, I am doing my PhD in Rice university, Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology. My PI is Todd Treangen. My previous work is developing alignment-based approach to detect lab-of-origin of engineered DNA sequences. The work has published in Nature Communication this year. Currently, I am developing an algorithm to detect important species in metagenomics samples. The goal is to convert metagenomic samples from disease state to healthy state by fecal transplanting important species, which are predicted using our method.
EBRC values Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and believes that diverse perspectives and experiences lead to a richer scientific enterprise. EBRC is developing a multi-phased, multi-year action plan to leverage its unique position at the intersection of academia, industry, and government to drive meaningful change. Please complete the survey below that corresponds to your EBRC affiliation, to help drive the development of our DEI action plan.
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The survey was developed to require minimal time on your part and can be completed in ten minutes. Responses will be analyzed in aggregate and coupled with an external landscape analysis of the broader field to identify meaningful actions and contributions our EBRC community can make to increase the inclusion and equity of people of color in engineering biology. Your participation is therefore crucial to the development of a successful strategy. We thank you for your guidance and insight.
EBRC also requests any additional comments or feedback from the community regarding our DEI efforts – including questions for the DEI panel on Day 3 of our Annual Meeting (Tue., Apr. 27, 2021). If you would like to offer additional comments related to survey(s) linked above, feedback related to our draft DEI Action Plan, or would like to discuss our efforts with EBRC staff or our DEI consultant, Duane Poe, please fill out the form linked here:
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I am a second year graduate student working on applications of tools from synthetic biology in environmental research. My current focus is on the marine and soil carbon cycles and soil carbon preservation.
After completing my BS in Molecular Biology at the University of Pittsburgh, I joined the Inst. of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Univeristy of Texas at Austin for my Ph.D. Working in lab of Dr. Lydia Contreras, my research focuses on how bacteria respond to sub-lethal doses of ionizing radiation. The aim of this work is to inform both the development of biosensors for radiation exposure and to better understand how microbial communities are impacted by radiation.