Applicants

  • Sara Molinari

    Dr. Sara Molinari graduated from the Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology Ph.D. program at Rice University with a thesis on programming differentiation in bacteria. This work enabled the creation of a novel pattern formation by physically separating genetically distinct cells. As a postdoctoral researcher, she created the first de novo macroscopic living material that grows from engineered bacteria. This work presents the only genetically encoded synthetic matrix that hierarchically assembles cells over four orders of magnitude and allows the genetic control of ELM mechanical and catalytic properties. In her laboratory in the Department of Bioengineering at The University of Maryland College Park, she investigates the design rules for engineering de novo ELMs from different bacteria to enable a wide array of applications. Sara is a full member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, a 2022 Distinguished Young Scholar (UWDYSS), a 2022 BME Future Faculty, and a rising star at the SynBYSS seminar series.

  • Wheaton Schroeder

    Wheaton Schroeder is a new Assistant Professor at Washington State University in the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering (started in August 2024). His research lab specializes in computational metabolic modeling (often referred to as genome-scale modeling) with various applications. Emerging applications in his research includes studying neurometabolic coupling (through the Astrocyte-Neuron Lactate Shuttle) including its role in seizures and designing an inducible cyanobacteria bioproduction platform leveraging the heterogeneity in photobioreactors for division of labor. Previous to his current position, Wheaton was most recently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University advised by Costas D. Maranas (for three years). In this position, his research, still in systems biology, was funded by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI). In CBI, his research focused on fundamental understanding of the target organism for consolidated bioprocessing, Clostridium thermocellum, and improved phenotype of process feedstock, Populus tricocarpa. In this role, he worked closely with synthetic biologists for hypothesis testing and model validation. Wheaton earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, advised by Rajib Saha. In his doctoral studies, Wheaton applied mathematical modeling to designing and modeling genetic circuits, creating a lifecycle model for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, studying fungal melanogenesis, and studying nitrogen-stressed maize root metabolism, among other application. Given this diversity of application, his thesis was entitled “Creation and Application of Various Tools for the Reconstruction, Curation, and Analysis of Genome-Scale Models of Metabolism”, defended in June of 2021. Wheaton earned a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics at Iowa State University in May of 2015.

  • Leopold Green

    Leo Green is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Purdue University. His research program converges DNA nanotechnology, microbiome engineering, and computational models to design bacterial theanostics.

  • Corey Hudson

  • James Saenz

    Research Summary
    My lab’s research merges my unique background in geochemistry and microbiology and my interest in synthetic biology and bioengineering to unravel and harness the role of lipids in organizing bioactivity. My lab has recently pioneered two fronts:

    1. Minimal Microbial Models for Membrane Biology: We’ve established minimal bacterial systems, notably pathogenic mycoplasma and the Minimal Cell (JCVI-Syn3), as modifiable membrane platforms amenable to synthetic genomics. This approach allows us to dissect and manipulate cell membranes, offering unique insights into lipid-mediated cellular functions and interactions. We have developed approaches to tune and minimize mycoplasma and Syn3 lipidomes, demonstrating that two lipids are sufficient (but far from optimal) for life. Using these minimal bacterial organisms, we can reintroduce genomic and chemical complexity to elucidate the crucial components of a functional cell membrane, with the ultimate goal of designing bespoke synthetic cell membranes. Expanding from studies of individual lipids, we aim to understand and engineer the lipidome’s complexity and its impact on cellular behavior in the context of environments from mammalian hosts to oceans and soils.

    2. Novel Membrane Sense and Response Mechanisms based on RNA-Lipid Interactions: A groundbreaking direction in our research is exploring how lipids can selectively interact with, and modulate RNAs. Beyond exploring lipid functions, this work paves the way for developing RNA-lipid interactions to create synthetic membrane sensors and riboregulatory mechanisms. The potential to design lipid-sensitive RNAs opens new avenues for synthetic biology applications, including novel forms of lipid regulation and membrane homeostasis.

  • Sana Zakaria

    Sana Zakaria is a Research Leader, and a Global RAND Scholar working emerging technologies and their intersection. Her work focusses on assessing the societal and biosecurity implications of technological advancement, and unpacking the factors affecting technology demand and supply, assessing oversight mechanisms for technology, and building resilience and preparedness in society.
    She is currently leading on evaluating the PATH-SAFE programme, a pilot programme on interconnectivity of the UK-wide genomic
    biosurveillance ecosystem. She is working with UK MoD on bioattribution workflows and capacity building. Her other key project involves assessing oversight mechanisms in embryology, brain computer interfaces, engineering biology and organoids. She is also leading on a project developing a global risk index to manage dual use risks from AI powered biological tools. She currently sits on an expert scientific group to the BWC to provide expert advice on science and technology mechanism, compliance and verification and international cooperation and assistance.

  • Chris Vaiana

  • Jaya Joshi

    Jaya Joshi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wood Science, Bioproducts, and Bioengineering at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Her research walks through enzyme design space: exploring fitness landscapes for radical metabolic engineering design ideas, with the goal of achieving successful carbon farming by 2050. The overarching aim of her research program is to transform inefficient designer biocatalysts into highly active enzymes by applying novel enzyme improvement strategies, such as continuous directed evolution and machine learning. Jaya earned her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Western University and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in 2017. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Andrew Hanson at the University of Florida in 2020 before joining Dr. Vincent Martin’s lab at the Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics in Montreal, where she explored the immense potential of biofoundries in synthetic biology. Exploring automation and synthetic biology tool development remains central to Jaya’s research at the University of British Columbia.

  • Alexander Vlahos

    Alexander Vlahos is an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is currently a Human Frontier Science Program Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Xiaojing Gao at Stanford University where he applies principles in synthetic biology and protein engineering to develop tools for programming intercellular signalling. Previously, he completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering with Dr. Michael Sefton at the University of Toronto, where he developed platforms to improve vascularization of the subcutaneous space for islet transplantation. His goal is to converge his background in synthetic biology, systems biology, and tissue engineering to mechanistically study and manipulate multicellular systems to determine the key signals that govern these processes. His lab will focus on grandstanding challenges in biomedicine such improving the long-term engraftment of therapeutic cells, and increasing the efficacy of cancer immunotherapies.

  • Luis Joel Figueroa-Yáñez

    PhD. Luis Joel Figueroa-Yáñez is Researcher class A, repatriated, belongs to the National System of Researchers (Level I), assigned to the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of Jalisco State (CIATEJ), México.
    He has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Universidad Veracruzana, a Master’s degree in Bioethics from the Universidad Anáhuac, a PhD in Biological Sciences from the Yucatán Scientific Research Center and a postdoctoral degree at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis Missouri, United States of America.
    It has publications on:
    -CRISPR-Cas and pathogenic organisms
    -Neural networks, deep learning and artificial intelligence in pancreatic cancer
    -The DBTL paradigm in Synthetic Biology and Synthetic Biology and COVID-19
    -Antioxidants and type 2 diabetes mellitus
    -Improvement of plants to counteract the greenhouse effect and other factors
    -CRISPR-Cas9 and dCas9 in yeast

  • Priyanka Nain

    I am Priyanka Nain, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Delaware. Here, my research revolves around finding innovative solutions that integrate synthetic biology, sustainability, and healthcare. My Ph.D. is from the Chemical Engineering Department at IIT Delhi, where I was developing strategies to improve the production of biotherapeutic proteins. I am deeply passionate about sustainable biomanufacturing. I thrive on the scientific challenges involved in scaling up bioprocesses, from optimizing cell lines and media to fine-tuning fermentation feeding and control strategies, and analytical methods. But I also care deeply about the broader impact – delivering products that are both effective and accessible and manufactured in the interest of the environment.

  • Sarah Hartley

    Technology governance is concerned with the decisions that shape how technology is funded, developed, regulated, tested, and deployed – it determines technology trajectories. My social science research takes a critical look at the politics and power in these governance decisions, particularly in efforts to open-up these expert spaces to diverse knowledge, values and visions through engagement and knowledge co-production – features that have become prevalent in technology governance in recent years. I’m particularly interested in the value tensions that exist in and between science and society when governance decisions are opened-up and, importantly, how to manage these tensions more effectively. I focus on the development and risk assessment of emerging technologies, particularly the biotechnologies (gene drive, genome-editing, genetic modification of animals, especially insects) and AL/digital technology applications in environment and agriculture. I am Co-Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence.

  • Willy A. Valdivia-Granda

    I am the founder of Orion Integrated Biosciences. I lead a group of researchers developing new techniques to decode microbes’ genomic information and map short DNA fragments to their source of origin, virulence, and possible genetic manipulation. My research includes the use of artificial intelligence algorithms including large language models, neural networks, and generative adversarial networks to design a new generation of biotentities for biotechnology applications. I also lead the advancement of a new generation of analytical tools for risk assessment and early warning of biothreats that can affect health, trade, and national security. This work includes processing large data sets from multiple sources, including geospatial, trade, news outlets, security, and economic signals and indicators using machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms. I have research projects with collaborators in several countries within the European Union, New Zealand, Guinea, Ukraine, Colombia, and Brazil. I serve as a subject matter expert and adviser to several funding agencies and policymakers within the U.S. government, and Hong Kong Research Council overseeing funding programs of more than USD 200 Million. This role not only underscores the significance of our work but also facilitates the integration of computer science principles into the development of solutions for pressing global challenges in health and security.

  • Alexander Refsnes Andrassy

    Research in cell culture models and synthetic biology innovations

  • Tiara Rahayu

    Tiara is Biotechnology enthusiast. Loving the world with collaboration in science, content creator, leadership in community, moderator event, and science communicator. My interests are about Biomedical informatics, genetic for disease, cancer genomics and precision oncology such as biomarkers. I have a sharing platform on @ngolabs for expand my network and get out more knowledge. Now, I’m being student research in National Research and Innovation Agency for handling Biomarker of HPV.

  • Elizabeth Kellogg

    Elizabeth Kellogg did her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and received a PhD from the University of Washington, working on computational biology in the group of David Baker. She then became a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Eva Nogales at UC Berkeley using cryo-electron microscopy. Her scientific background results in a scientific approach that seeks to understand biology with a quantitative perspective, relying on biological structure determination and design. Since starting her own group at Cornell University in 2019, Dr. Kellogg has sought to understand how transposons reshape genomes and how they can be repurposed as genome-editing tools. In particular, her group has investigated the behavior and molecular mechanisms of programmable, CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs), to determine how DNA integration is regulated spatially and temporally in a genomic context, using a combination of biochemical, structural, single-molecule and genetic approaches. Among other honors, Dr. Kellogg was selected as Pew Biomedical Scholar in 2021 and received the 2023 Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award from the Biophysical Society. She joined St. Jude as an Associate Member in 2023.

  • Geoff Baldwin

    Geoff Baldwin is Professor of Synthetic & Molecular Biology at Imperial College London, he is Co-Director of the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology and Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in BioDesign Engineering. Research work in the Baldwin lab focuses on the development of synthetic biology approaches to facilitate the engineering of new biological systems for real-world applications. To this end he has developed foundational tools that transform our ability to rapidly prototype new biological designs, like DNA-BOT, automated DNA assembly based on the BASIC method. These fundamental developments are being applied across a broad range of projects that address gene circuit design; RNA feedback control and in vivo directed evolution for the generation of new protein specificity and functionality. Recently he has been developing new AI based approaches to enhance our ability to engineer new biological systems with human interpretable outcomes and only sparse sampling of the design space.

  • Robert Ziman

    Robert is a research software engineer with a decade of experience supporting bioinformatics and computational biology projects in both academia and industry. He was a bioinformatics programmer at The Centre for Applied Genomics in Toronto, a bioinformatics associate at Genentech in South San Francisco, and a research associate in the Cohen Lab for Aging, Systems, and Statistics at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. He co-founded and co-hosted the Longevity Biotech Show podcast and has been observing the longevity biotech scene since the early 2000s. Robert holds a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto.

  • Dr. Muhammad Saad Ahmed

    The main research interest of Dr. Ahmed is to focus on industrially important metabolites production in microbes through the application of system metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. Previously, Dr. Ahmed developed industrially competitive microbial strains that were capable of producing industrially important secondary metabolites, for instance, β-amyrin, squalene, etc., and these strains are highly efficient for commercialization. Moreover, Dr. Ahmed expanded his research interest toward other industrially important metabolites, i.e., fragrance, flavor, and drugs, that might be in the category of alkaloids, sesquiterpenoids, monoterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, and tetraterpenoids. These metabolites are normally used in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals industries as raw materials for the production of medicines, foods, and cosmetics.

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