Michaela Jones

Michaela is a postdoctoral researcher in Otto Cordero’s Lab at MIT working to expand the metabolic function of non-model ocean microbes. Prior to starting her postdoc, she completed her graduate work with Aditya Kunjapur at University of Delaware where she developed a new pathway for biosynthesis of non-standard amino acids and engineered a bacterial strain that was dependent on a non-standard amino acid for growth that can persist in soil microenvironments to build towards safely deployable synthetic microbes. As an EBRC board member, she serves as EMUMS chair to help provide academic mentorship to undergraduate and Master’s students interested in engineering biology.

Security Screening in Synthetic DNA Synthesis: Recommendations for Updated Federal Guidance

Publication Date: April 2022

EBRC recommendations for increasing security in the synthetic DNA synthesis industry.

Translational Research for Breakthrough Technologies: Advancing Engineering Biology to Address Societal Needs at NSF

Publication Date: April 2022

As NSF establishes its new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships to translate research into practical applications, the agency has abundant opportunity to boldly support engineering biology research towards transformational, use-inspired technologies to grow and expand the U.S. bioeconomy. EBRC provides recommendations for the new Directorate to support the translation of fundamental engineering biology research results, establish infrastructure to transform tools into technologies, and to enable cross-disciplinary and entrepreneurial research, education, and training.

Sanjeeva K Murali

Sanjeeva is a PhD student in Mansell lab at Iowa state university. His research work focuses on developing novel prebiotic-probiotic pairs for gut microbiome engineer. Prior to this, he completed his masters from IIT Guwahati, where he focused on constructing metabolic pathway to convert dairy waste to D-Lactic acid. Currently, he serves as a member of the EBRC SPA Board and works as the liaison to the Policy and International Engagement group. In addition, he also worked as a downstream process engineer for monoclonal antibody purification at Dr. Reddy Laboratories in India. Outside research, he enjoys watching cricket, playing badminton, running etc. 

Edward Kalkreuter

Edward is a postdoctoral fellow in the Ben Shen lab at UF Scripps. His research focuses on developing and utilizing synthetic biology approaches for natural product discovery and biosynthetic engineering, with an emphasis on biosynthetic gene cluster regulation. Prior to his postdoctoral position, he obtained his Ph.D. in the Gavin Williams lab at North Carolina State University where he engineered polyketide synthases and constructed transcription factor-based biosensors.

Slide 1: Strengthening a Safe and Secure Nucleic Acid Synthesis Ecosystem: Outcomes of EBRC Stakeholder Engagement

Strengthening a Safe and Secure Nucleic Acid Synthesis Ecosystem: Outcomes of EBRC Stakeholder Engagement

Slide 2: Space Health Roadmap

EBRC’s newest roadmap: Engineering Biology for Space Health

Slide 3: Metrics and Standards Report

Engineering Biology Metrics and Technical Standards for the Global Bioeconomy

Slide 4: Global Bioeconomy

EBRC Partners in NSF-Funded Initiative to Accelerate Global Bioeconomy