Mohammed Dwidar

Dr. Dwidar is an Assistant Staff member at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University, and a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. He leads a research program focusing on applying bacterial synthetic biology to develop novel therapeutics.

After obtaining BSc in Pharmacy, he began his career as a microbiologist in Egypt’s pharmaceutical industry, sparking his interest in translational research. He later completed MSc and PhD training in Biological Sciences in South Korea, followed by postdoctoral work in Japan specializing in bacterial synthetic biology.
In 2019, he joined Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he expanded his research into microbiome research and specifically how gut microbiome regulate biochemical pathways that influence disease progression.
In 2024, he launched his independent research program focusing on the development of engineered microbial therapeutics with a major emphasis on bacterial-based cancer therapy. Supported by the DoD Ovarian Cancer Research Program, NCI and NIGMS, his recent work has pioneered the design of programmable genetic circuits in anticancer bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica.
Dr. Dwidar’s multidisciplinary training has enabled him to integrate bacterial synthetic biology, metabolism, and microbiome research to develop innovative therapeutic strategies for cancer. Over the past 14 years, Dr. Dwidar has published more than 37 original research articles, of which he is the main author on the majority of these publications, in addition to several patents, review articles, and book chapters.

Sankar Raju Narayanasamy

Dr. Sankar Raju Narayanasamy is a Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). He leads strategic innovation across AI, next-gen biotechnology, autonomous instrumentation, and high-performance computing to enable rapid, data-driven countermeasure development and strengthen global biosecurity and national security.

He completed his doctoral studies in Physical Chemistry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) with joint supervision from Stanford University. Prior to his doctorate, he performed research at prominent institutions including the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, DESY (Germany), Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His expertise spans technology development, multi-functional team leadership, structural biology, genomics, robotics, nanomaterials, microfluidics, AI, nanofabrication, biomanufacturing, non-proliferation, counterterrorism, and other advanced biodefense solutions.

Technical Program Consultant — DARPA / ARPA-H

Technical Program Consultant — DARPA / ARPA-H

Former SETAs & federal R&D technical advisors are strongly encouraged to apply

Remote
Part-time, 10–15 hrs/week | Potential path to full-time

 

About us

Tetonic AI helps companies, universities, and consortia win funding from the moonshot agencies — primarily ARPA-H and DARPA. Our team leverages deep experience with these agencies to help our clients craft compelling applications likely to be successful at achieving funding. In the past year we have support almost a dozen applications across open solicitations and successfully shepherded a program to funding.

 

The role

  • Shape ideas that will receive moonshot funding: work with our clients to develop ambitious but achievable proposals
  • Serve as a jack of all trades for project development: help draft assorted documentation ranging from
  • Build consortia. Source and screen partners, leverage and develop networks across the bio and tech space, evaluate and screen promising technologies
  • Design finances and project milestones: ensure that we develop program structures that are well defined and executable
  • Serve as a government affairs expert: ensure that our clients feel comfortable with all government specific nuances of the funding opportunities that they are engaging with
  • Project management: ensure projects are well managed and executed in a timely and efficient fashion, handle diverse stakeholders with varying degrees of preparedness

 

Who we’re looking for:

Our ideal profile is a former DARPA or ARPA-H SETA — someone who supported program managers through program design, technical evaluation, and source selection and is deeply familiar with the programs these agencies develop and fund. Candidates with similar experiences will also be considered – these include candidates with deep scientific experience and familiarity with developing moonshot initiatives, candidates who have working designing and funding programs at similar peer agencies and others with exceptional scientific communication chops.

 

What you’ll need:

  • Strong technical writing and feedback capacity
  • Ability to provide insightful feedback on highly complex technical proposals in areas of science and engineering you have never worked with before
  • Responsiveness, professionalism and affability needed to work with a diverse set of highly demanding clients
  • Capacity to pivot to novel highly intense projects with short notice and minimize failure risks on tight deadlines
  • Capacity to work independently with minimal direction to provide advice, organization and project direction

Preferred: PhD with domain depth in biotech, health, AI, sensing, robotics, energy, or other hard tech fields

 

To apply:

Send your resume and a short note (<=1 paragraph) to ops@tetonic-ai.com explaining your interest in the position and why you are a strong fit.

Shifting Gears: Automation, AI, and high-throughput methodologies

Call for abstracts + travel grants: Join the 28th EMBL PhD Symposium, “Shifting Gears: Automation, AI, and High-Throughput Methodologies,” at EMBL Heidelberg and online, 2–4 December 2026. Abstracts are accepted until 9 September 2026. Travel grants include a registration-fee waiver and travel support of up to €1,000 for international participants or €400 for EU participants. https://phdsymposium.embl-community.io/

Felicia Wu

Felicia Wu is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Food Safety, Toxicology, and Risk Assessment at Michigan State University; University Distinguished Professor; and immediate Past-President of the Society for Risk Analysis. She is appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer as Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Commission for the state of Michigan. Dr. Wu works at the nexus of biotechnology, agriculture, food safety, and nutrition to improve public health. Currently she has five extramural grants with topics ranging from assessing the health risks of foodborne lead, arsenic, and cadmium; improving resilience of food systems against shocks; and reducing presence of mycotoxins, heavy metals, and pathogens in food crops. Dr. Wu is a Member of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), co-chaired the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Supporting Responsible Innovation of Synthetic Cells, and now serves on the NASEM Food Forum and the WHO Dietary Guidelines Committee. She earned her PhD in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and AB and SM in Applied Mathematics/Medical Sciences at Harvard University.

Neil Dixon

Neil Dixon is Professor of Sustainable Biotechnology at The University of Manchester and a recognised leader in engineering biology and sustainable biomanufacturing. His research focuses on developing advanced genetic tools, biosensors, engineered microbial systems and bioprocesses that enable the sustainable production of chemicals and materials from renewable and waste-derived feedstocks. He leads a multidisciplinary research programme at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology that combines synthetic biology, microbial engineering and bioprocess innovation to address global challenges in climate change, resource efficiency and circular manufacturing.

Professor Dixon has over two decades of experience translating engineering biology research into industrial, environmental and societal impact. His work spans microbial engineering, biosensor design, biomanufacturing and circular bioeconomy innovation, with applications ranging from renewable chemical production to waste valorisation and low-carbon materials. He has led major UK and international research initiatives, including the UK arm of the Global Centre for Circular Economy (CIRCLE), and has built extensive partnerships with industry, government and academic collaborators across multiple continents.

Beyond research, Professor Dixon is active in shaping the future of engineering biology through policy engagement, international collaboration and community leadership. He contributes to national and international research strategy, supports the development of future talent through doctoral training and mentorship, and works to ensure that engineering biology delivers sustainable economic and environmental benefits. His interests align strongly with the Engineering Biology Research Consortium’s mission to advance engineering biology through interdisciplinary research, innovation, responsible development and international collaboration.

Karl Thompson

Karl Thompson, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor at Howard University whose work focuses on the genetic analysis of bacterial pathogens, microbial genetics, RNA biology, genome engineering, biosafety, and engineering biology. His NIH-funded research examines RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression in bacteria, including the roles of small regulatory RNAs and RNA-binding factors in controlling bacterial physiology. His laboratory also uses gene fusions, site-directed mutagenesis, genome engineering, and sequence-defined variants in protein-coding and noncoding RNA systems to investigate sequence-function relationships.

Dr. Thompson serves as Howard University’s University Biosafety Officer and holds leadership roles in research and graduate education. He previously served as the inaugural Director of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Science Graduate Program and as Director of the Microbiology Ph.D. Program. He is also developing graduate coursework in synthetic biology, biosecurity, and biotechnology.

His broader work includes participation as a Mid-Career Biosecurity Fellow with the Council on Strategic Risks and service on the National Academies Mirror Biology Planning Committee. His mentoring record includes undergraduate and graduate researchers across biology, microbiology, and engineering-related disciplines, including Howard University Goldwater Scholars.

His interests include strengthening HBCU research capacity in engineering biology, expanding pathways into synthetic biology and biomanufacturing, advancing responsible biotechnology and biosecurity, and connecting foundational research with national security and workforce-development priorities.

Dennis Mishler

Professor at UT Austin primarily working with undergraduate researchers as part of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI).

Timothy Kelliher

Tim Kelliher is the Roberts and Mikhail Distinguished Chair in Plant Genome Editing at North Carolina State University. He has a co-appointment in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and the Department of Horticultural Science. Tim leads the Genome Editing Center, which is focused on creating novel traits in row crops, specialty crops, and ornamental species. The goal is to shorten the timespan to deploy genome engineering innovations to farmers.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Swarthmore College, and a Ph.D. in Biology from Stanford University, where he studied corn plant reproductive biology. He spent the past 12 years at Syngenta leading programs focusing on breeding technologies and genome editing trait development for Syngenta Seeds, serving as head of Trait and Technology Discovery. In that role he managed teams working on GM and Genome Editing in the US and Beijing.

Yan Zhang

Dr. Yan Zhang is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University. Her laboratory develops cell-free gene expression systems that enable the rapid design, construction, and screening of biological parts and systems. By integrating synthetic biology, systems-level characterization, and molecular engineering, the Zhang Lab develops foundational technologies to engineer complex biological functions outside living cells, with applications in human health, agriculture, and distributed biomanufacturing. Current research areas include host-independent bacteriophage engineering and the development of programmable biological systems for therapeutic and agricultural applications.

Prior to joining Rice, Dr. Zhang received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She completed her postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Richard Murray and William Clemons at the California Institute of Technology, where she developed cell-free platforms for biological design and bacteriophage engineering. Her work was supported by the NIH MOSAIC K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. At Rice, her research program is supported by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) New Faculty Recruitment Award, which supports the development of next-generation biological technologies for cancer prevention and treatment.

Baley Reeves

Baley Reeves has served as NCTM director since 2024. She has 20 years of experience in downstream processing and over 16 years of experience in biomanufacturing workforce training, and leads the NCTM downstream operations team with expertise in the recovery and purification of recombinant proteins, vaccines, and gene therapy products, as well as experience in cGMP manufacturing and process development. Prior to joining NCTM, Baley was a senior scientist at the Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC), where she developed and taught courses for biotech industry leaders, regulatory agencies, and the WHO. She has also worked on numerous vaccine-related projects, including a global survey of the vaccine manufacturing landscape with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Baley holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She has authored articles on protein purification in Trends in Biotechnology, Protein Science, Protein Expression and Purification, and Microbial Cell Factories, as well as articles on biomanufacturing training and education published in Chemical Engineering Education.

Cell 2026

Join the global hub for biologics innovation at NextGen Biomed 2026, where the brightest minds in drug discovery and development come together to accelerate life-saving treatments. This transformative event unites six thriving communities on one platform, empowering over 1,000 R&D experts to collaborate, innovate, and deliver breakthroughs sustainably and at scale.

ABHYUDAI SINGH

Prof. Abhyudai Singh earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India. He received master’s degrees in both mechanical and electrical & computer engineering from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in ecology, evolution, and marine biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). After earning his doctoral degree in electrical & computer engineering in 2008, also from UCSB, he completed postdoctoral work in UC San Diego’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Since 2021, he is a Full Professor in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Delaware. His research interests are in modeling and inference of biomedical systems with applications to systems biology, synthetic biology, virology, medicine, and neuroscience.

Stephanie Schroeder

Stephanie Schroeder is the coordinator for the Build-a-Cell research initiative housed at the University of Minnesota. She coordinates a network of researchers focused on the goal of synthesizing cells for real world applications (targeted therapeutic medicine, biofuels for renewable energy, understanding the origin of life). Trained as a marine biologist, she specializes in science education & engagement. She received her BS from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and her PhD from the University of Oregon. While investigating owl limpet territorial behavior, she realized her love of integrating research, education, and equity in STEM. She lives in Minneapolis and explores the city with her spouse and dog. They hike when it’s not too cold and she knits when the temperature dips into the single digits.

Nataliya Shok

Dr. Nataliya Shok is an accomplished academic with over 10 years of transdisciplinary experience in health and science policy research. Holding dual PhDs in political science and the history of science and technology, Dr. Shok brings a deep understanding of the complex intersections between these fields. As a seasoned program manager, she possesses strong analytical skills and a wealth of experience in policy development, strategic planning, and communications. She has effectively blended administrative leadership and teaching at prestigious medical schools in Russia and Kazakhstan. In 2019, she enriched her expertise as a visiting scholar at Wake Forest University.

At Georgetown, Dr. Nataliya Shok teaches in the Graduate Program in Biohazardous Threat Agents & Emerging Infectious Diseases, as well as in the Graduate Program in Biomedical Science Policy and Advocacy. In addition, she leads a Russia-focused team within a project on COVID-19 public health management in Asia, Russia, and Oceania, initiated by Dr. Tomoko Steen. Nataliya’s team investigates Russian approaches to global health and their implications for health security and future pandemic preparedness amid strategic competition.
Throughout her career, she has contributed to and led multiple research projects across academia, government, and civil society organizations, demonstrating her commitment to advancing impactful policy solutions. Her research findings became a subject of visiting lectures and talks across America and Europe – Cornell University, Wake Forest University, University of Notre Dame, Arizona State University, Ohio State University, Brussels School of Governance, Ulm University, Asfendiyarov Medical University, etc.

Rosa Santomartino

Blake Rasor

Blake Rasor received a B.S. in biology & microbiology from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Then he earned a Ph.D. in chemical & biological engineering from Northwestern University, working with Prof. Mike Jewett to study and engineer metabolism in cell-free systems. Before joining NC State, Blake was an EMBO postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, where he worked with Prof. Tobias Erb to study photosynthesis using components from algae and cyanobacteria. Blake joined the faculty of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State University in 2025 as a part of the new biomanufacturing-focused cluster. His research combines systems and synthetic biology approaches to engineer biocatalysis platforms with a focus on cell-free systems, 1-carbon metabolism, and photosynthesis.

Claudia Vickers

Professor Claudia Vickers is an internationally recognised leader in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, with over 25 years of experience spanning academia, government, and industry. She is Professor at the Queensland University of Technology and Founder and Director of BioBuilt Solutions.

Professor Vickers has played a central role in building the synthetic biology ecosystem in Australia and connecting it globally. She was founding President of Synthetic Biology Australasia, where she established and grew a regional community spanning academia, industry, and government, including major conferences and collaborative networks that have helped bring the field to critical mass in Australia. As inaugural Director of CSIRO’s Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, she grew a A$13M initiative into a A$60M national program involving over 200 researchers across more than 40 national and international partner organisations, establishing Australia’s first nationally accessible BioFoundry and creating enduring frameworks for cross-sector collaboration.

Professor Vickers is deeply engaged in international policy and strategy for engineering biology. She has represented Australia in global forums including the OECD (Synthetic Biology and Biofutures Working Groups), the World Economic Forum (Co-Chair, Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology), and the FAO. She contributed to Australia’s national synthetic biology roadmap and has advised federal and state governments through ministerial briefings and expert working groups. Her experience spans translation and industry engagement, including executive roles in biotechnology companies and advisory work with industry, investors, and government. Alongside this, she leads a research program focused on engineering biological systems for sustainable production, with over 100 publications and significant international impact.

Tianhu Sun

I am interested in plant secondary metabolism, metabolic engineering, and plant molecular farming. Currently I am focusing on revealing carotenoid biosynthesis using tomato and Arabidopsis as model systems and multiple vitamin biofortification in seeds using synthetic biology and genetic engineering methods. Another research topic of my lab is using plant system to produce therapeutic proteins.

Tamara Mandell

Tamara Mandell, M.Ed., serves as Director of Biotility at the University of Florida (UF Biotility), where she leads national efforts to build a skilled, future ready bioscience workforce. Applying more than a decade of combined academic research and industrial biotechnology experience, she leads with a pragmatic approach to aligning competencies and skills with regulated manufacturing and research environments. Tamara led the development of the Biotechnology Aptitude and Competency Exam (BACE), a nationally recognized credential that provides employers with validated measures of workforce ready skills and expands pathways into biotechnology careers. A champion for learners, instructors, and the broader bio industrial community, she seeks to embed industry practices, competencies, and skills into multi-level curricula to support a talent pipeline capable of contributing to engineering biology and biomanufacturing innovation.
She oversees Biotility’s portfolio of industry recognized, ISO/IEC 17024 aligned credentials, developed with biotechnology employers and governed by a national industry advisory board to ensure rigor and continued relevance. Her leadership focuses on stackable credentials with cross-cutting standards leading to increased career options and advancement across biotechnology sectors. A strong advocate for maintaining high standards while expanding access, Tamara emphasizes the role of validated credentials in strengthening employer–education alignment and supporting a safe, ethical, and well qualified biotechnology workforce. Tamara holds a B.S.E. in Biology and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, foundations that bridge scientific expertise with evidence based educational design. This combination drives her commitment to shaping a capable, credentialed, and forward-looking bioscience workforce equipped to support the responsible growth and innovation goals of the broader bioscience industries.