PhD in Biomolecular Science and Engineering at UC Santa Barbara; Post-doc in biological engineering at Northwestern University with Dr. Michal Jewett. My research group aims to integrate biological engineering with hypothesis driven science to advance our understanding of human biochemistry and physiology. A major thrust of my research group focuses on adapting biotechnologies for the classroom to enable inquiry-based learning.
Dr. Jeffrey E. Barrick is an Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences and a member of the Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 2001 and his Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University in 2006. Dr. Barrick performed his thesis research on the discovery and characterization of metabolite-sensing riboswitches in bacteria under the direction of Ronald Breaker. He was then a postdoctoral fellow from 2006 to 2010 with Richard Lenski at Michigan State University where he studied genome dynamics in a 25-year laboratory evolution experiment with Escherichia coli. His honors include an NSF CAREER Award, an NIH Pathway to Independence Award, and an RNA Society/Scaringe Young Scientist Award. Dr. Barrick’s research is at the interface of synthetic biology and microbial experimental evolution. His laboratory is interested in improving the reliability of biological engineering by developing methods to anticipate and prevent unwanted evolution of designed DNA sequences, in understanding how expanded genetic codes impact the evolutionary potential of organisms, and in engineering insect-associated bacterial symbionts for applications in agriculture. They create and maintain open-source software tools for identifying mutations in microbial genomes from next-generation DNA sequencing data (breseq) and for predicting DNA sequences prone to unwanted evolution (EFM Calculator).
The Meyer lab performs research targeted at re-engineering bacteria to synthesize bio-inspired materials with improved properties. This approach has the potential to replace traditional chemical approaches that require extreme environmental conditions, expensive equipment, and the generation of hazardous waste. As a first step we have targeted bacterial production of patterned artificial nacre, a biomineralized material lining seashells that combines high mechanical strength with high fracture toughness. Combination of our biological materials-producing systems with our newly developed 3D bacterial printers will allow the rapid and straight-forward production of spatially structured biomaterials.
Dr. Sarah Glaven is a research biologist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) with over 12 years of experience in the field of microbial electrochemistry and electromicrobiology, processes in which microorganisms are used to catalyze electrode reactions and transport electrons over micron size distances. Dr. Glaven is recognized worldwide as an expert in the basic science of this field and for her recent work using meta-omics to understand electron transfer and carbon fixation of a marine cathode bacterial biofilm community. Dr. Glaven has published over 35 peer-reviewed articles in microbial electrochemistry, work that has been cited over 1400 times. She also holds a patent on the use of biocathodes for microbial reductive dechlorination in contaminated groundwater (#8,277,657, “Systems and methods for microbial reductive dechlorination of environmental contaminants”). More recently, Dr. Glaven has begun incorporating tools and practices of synthetic biology in her research to engineer extracellular electron transfer (EET). She also currently serves on the editorial board of ASM’s mSystems, the new journal Biofilms, and is the current President of the International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology (ISMET).
Current: Associate Professor and Director of Life Science, Department of Chemistry and Life Science, West Point, NY
2007-2012 Faculty, Department of Chemistry and Life Science, West Point, NY
2004-2007 Postdoctoral Associate, Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-oncology, Rockefeller University, NY
1999-2004 Graduate Student, Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, CT
1992-1999 Army Officer, pilot, staff officer, ROTC instructor, AL, AZ, GA, and PR.
1988-1992 Cadet, West Point, NY
Ranjan Srivastava is Professor and Head of the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut. Additionally, he holds appointments in Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Engineering. He is also a faculty member of the Head and Neck Cancer/Oral Oncology Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Dr. Srivastava received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland-College Park. He held a joint post-doctoral fellowship in Chemical Engineering and Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was an NIH Trainee. His research focus is on the understanding and application of evolutionary dynamics, whether “wet” or computational/algorithmic, to systems and synthetic biology. To that end, his group has used evolutionary approaches to evolve new mathematical models of biological systems, curate existing models at the genome scale via evolutionary algorithms, and optimize bioprocessing strategies.
Dr. Renee Wegrzyn joined DARPA as a Program Manager in 2016, where she applies the tools of genome engineering and synthetic biology to support biosecurity, enable flexible biomanufacturing, and outpace infectious disease. Her portfolio includes the Living Foundries, Safe Genes, and PREPARE programs. Living Foundries seeks to transform biology into an engineering practice by developing the tools, technologies, methodologies, and infrastructure to prototype and scale engineered microbes that can produce molecules that are of value for government and commercial use. Safe Genes aims to deliver novel biological capabilities to facilitate the safe and expedient pursuit of advanced genome editing applications, while also providing the tools and methodologies to mitigate the risk of unintentional consequences or intentional misuse of these technologies. PREPARE (Preemptive Expression of Protective Alleles and Response Elements) is focused applying the tools of genome engineering to create potent, transient, and reversible medical countermeasures to combat biological, chemical, and radiological threats to public health and national security. Prior to joining DARPA as a PM, Dr. Wegrzyn was a Senior Lead Biotechnologist at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she led a team that provided scientific and strategic support in the areas of biodefense, biosecurity, and biotechnical innovation to DARPA and other federal and private institutions. She is a former Fellow of the UPMC Center for Health Security Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative. Dr. Wegrzyn also led research and development teams in the biotech industry focused on the development of multiplex immunoassays and peptide-based disease diagnostics. Dr. Wegrzyn holds Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Science degrees in Applied Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with an undergraduate minor in Bioengineering. She completed her postdoctoral training as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Heidelberg, Germany.
Sam is a 2nd year PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Northwestern University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He currently researches utilizing the type III secretion system in Salmonella for efficient, large scale biomanufacturing. He is interested in next-generation biotechnology, scale-up engineering, and science diplomacy.
I am a graduate student in the Tullman-Ercek lab at Northwestern.
Dr. Sang Yup Lee is Distinguished Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). He is currently the Dean of KAIST Institutes, Director of BioProcess Engineering Research Center, and Director of Bioinformatics Research Center. He served as a Founding Dean of College of Life Science and Bioengineering. He has published more than 580 journal papers, 82 books/book chapters, and more than 630 patents, many of which licensed. He received numerous awards, including the National Order of Merit, National Science Medal, Ho-Am Prize, POSCO TJ Park Prize, the Best Scientist and Technologist Award, James Bailey Award, Merck Metabolic Engineering Award, Elmer Gaden Award, Charles Thom Award, and Marvin Johnson Award. Professor Lee also delivered numerous named lectures around the world. He is currently Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, the World Academy of Sciences, Korean Academy of Science and Technology, National Academy of Engineering of Korea, and National Academy of Inventors USA. As of 2018, he is one of 13 people in the world elected as Foreign Associate of both National Academy of Engineering USA and National Academy of Sciences USA. He is honorary professor of University of Queensland, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Wuhan University, Hubei University of Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Jiangnan University, and Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology. He has served as the Chairman of the Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies and also Biotechnology, and is currently co-chair of the Global Future Council on Biotechnology and a member of the Global Future Council on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, World Economic Forum. Prof. Lee is editor-in-chief of Biotechnology Journal (Wiley) and Metabolic Engineering (Elsevier), and also editor and editorial board member of many international journals. He founded the World Council on Industrial Biotechnology in 2010 and served as a Founding Chair for two years. He served as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology of Korea and a member of Government Performance Evaluation Committee, and is currently serving as a member of the Central Strategic Committee of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. His research areas are metabolic engineering, systems biology, synthetic biology, systems medicine, industrial biotechnology and nanobiotechnology.
I am a graduate student in the Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology program at Rice University. I am in the Chappell Lab and build RNA regulators.
Arthur received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Caltech and a PhD in Bioengineering from UCSD. As a Simons-Helen Hay Whitney Fellow in the Süel Laboratory at UCSD, he developed new approaches to decipher collective mechanisms underlying bacterial biofilm organization. In particular, how a conflict between cooperation and competition is resolved through collective metabolic oscillations that increase nutrient availability for sheltered interior cells. Arthur found that these oscillations are coordinated by ion channel-mediated electrochemical signals, revealing an unexpected functional similarity between ion channels in neurons and those in microbes. These findings serve to establish a prokaryotic paradigm for electrical signaling and hint at the extent to which unicellular bacteria are capable of behaving as a proto-multicellular organism. Arthur’s laboratory is currently working to leverage these exciting findings to develop a new synthetic biology toolbox based on ion channel-mediated electrochemical communication in bacterial communities. Arthur is currently an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University in the Center for Synthetic Biology and holds a CASI award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a Young Investigator award from the Army Research Office, and a Packard Fellowship.
Betul Kacar (Betül Kaçar) is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona Departments of Cell Biology and Astronomy She is also an associate professor at Earth-Life Science Institute of Tokyo Institute of Technology. She received her PhD from Emory University working jointly in the Department of Chemistry and the Emory School of Medicine. She was awarded a NASA Astrobiology Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2012 to bring abstractly reconstructed ancestral DNA sequences into the lab for physical, chemical and biological characterization by expressing inferred DNA sequences in modern organisms. Between 2014 and 2017 she lead an independent project funded by the John Templeton Foundation at Harvard University. In 2018, she moved her laboratory to University of Arizona where she is focusing on reconstructing key enzymatic intermediates between biological activity and global geochemical reservoirs throughout the Earth’s deep history. Betul is named a NASA Early Career Fellow in 2018.
Betul Kacar’s work has been recognized by various media outlets, such as NOVA Science, BBC Focus, New Scientist, WGBH, MIT Technology Review, SETI Institute, Astrobiology Magazine, Wired, Popular Science, PBS, iO9, CNN Turk, Quanta Magazine. She cares deeply about science education, outreach and communication, in 2012 she co-founded SAGANet,: The Online STEM Mentorship and Education Network, she serves on the Board of Advisory Committee of the MIT BioBuilder Foundation and was named “Way Cool Scientist” by the Science Club for Girls, USA in 2016.
Betul Kacar was recently awarded grants from the Templeton Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the NASA Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Programs as well as Harvard Origins Initiative to continue this work deeper into the past and to resurrect greater portions of the universally shared ancestral genome. She is interested in understanding life’s origins, evolution and possible existence elsewhere in t
I’m currently a scientist at Zymergen, primarily working on strain and metabolic engineering. My background is in molecular biology and evolutionary genetics. My PhD was on the impact of mutations and natural polymorphisms on gene expression in yeast, while my postdoc work was on using DNA barcoding and experimental evolution to study mutations that contribute to evolutionary adaptation. My expertise is in molecular biology, genetics, and microbiology.
Stacy-Anne Morgan is a Scientist at Zymergen. She received her MSc. (2005) and Ph.D. (2010) degrees from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto where her work focused on engineering photocontrolled DNA-binding proteins. From 2011 to 2016, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Dave Savage’s group at the University of California, Berkeley where she worked on developing genetically encoded fluorescent sensors for metabolites. She is interested in working to increase diversity in STEM fields.