Devin Camenares

Synthetic Biologist & Co-founder , Great Lakes SynBio Association

My career dedication to biotechnology education and the growth of the bioeconomy is best exemplified by my involvement with iGEM – over a decade with roles spanning volunteer, team mentor, judge, and After-iGEM committee member. After earning my PhD in Molecular Biology from Stony Brook University in 2013, I taught biology and mentored teams at both Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn (New York City) and at Alma College, in rural-mid Michigan. Currently I am involved in growing the bioeconomy from a different vantage point as a Synthetic Biologist at the University of Dayton Research Institute. However, I am also continuing educational outreach and community building through the Great Lakes SynBio Association. GLSB is a nonprofit I co-founded that is dedicated to the growth of the bioeconomy in the Midwestern US. I was recently selected as a ‘Next Generation Leader’ at the ‘Spirit of Asilomar and Future of Biotechnology’ summit. I’ve seen firsthand both the awesome power biotechnology has to motivate students, as well as the waning participation and excellence the US has in iGEM first, and eventually the field writ large.

Apart from time in the lab or meetings (at UDRI or beyond), you can find me spending time with my wife and two daughters (9yo and 8mo). I am also an avid chess and tennis player, a member of the Society of Catholic Scientists, and an ardent Mets fan.