soedarsono@berkeley.edu Education Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison Research My research experience was in photocatalysts synthesis in undergrad and in upstream and downstream manufacturing technology R&D in industry. Going back for my PhD, I was interested in getting to know more about […]
Allegra Messinese
amessinese@berkeley.edu Education M.Eng. student in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley B.S. in Nanobiology, University of Technology Delft Research My primary research goal in the Keasling lab is to engineer polyketide synthases for the biosynthesis of valuable compounds in Bacillus subtilis. Previously, I worked at the University of Technology Delft under the supervision of Prof. Greg Bokinsky, […]
Nathan Lanclos
lanclosn@berkeley.edu Education Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology & B.A. Economics, University of South Florida Research I am interested in using genetic tools and computational biology to engineer complex living systems.
Ezechinyere Ukabiala
eze_ukabiala@berkeley.edu Education Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco B.S. in Bioengineering, UC San Diego Research I’m interested in engineering microbes to produce fuels and commodity chemicals.
BJ Cawthon
cawthon_bridgie@berkeley.edu Education Ph.D. student and GEM Fellow in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Tennessee, Knoxville Research My research background has primarily been in protein extraction and performing metabolic flux analysis. This has sparked my interest in metabolic engineering work. I was specifically interested in Jay because of his […]
Justin Baerwald
jbaerwald@berkeley.edu Education Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley B.S. in Chemical Engineering, University Wisconsin Madison Research My research interests include synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and fermentative engineering.
Maria Astolfi
mastolfi@lbl.gov Education Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, University of California-Berkeley & UCSF, USA B.Tech in Biotechnology, Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil Research I am passionate about synthetic biology to grow colorful, flavorful, and meaningful natural products from our vast biodiversity. In the Keasling Lab, I am excited to work at the intersection of multi-omics, machine learning, […]
Lucas Waldburger
lwaldburger@lbl.gov Education Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley Research I am interested in using machine learning and functional genomics to explore biosynthetic diversity and engineer complex functions in living systems. My current research focuses on using high-throughput synthetic biology to decipher natural genetic […]
Allie Pearson
al.pearson@lbl.gov Education Ph.D. student in Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of California, Berkeley Research I’m interested in utilizing functional genomics to study host metabolisms/regulatory systems and the directed evolution of transcription factor based biosensors.
Jacob B. Roberts
jbr@lbl.gov Education Ph.D. student in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering Physics, Cornell University Research I’m excited about carbon reduction and sequestration, and in the Keasling lab two areas in particular. First, computational optimization of novel polyketide synthases (PKSs) for retrobiosynthesis. Second, reengineering of carbon metabolism to improve reactor […]
Isaac Donnell
idonnell@lbl.gov Education Ph.D. student in Chemistry, UC Berkeley B.A. in Chemistry with distinction, Carleton College Research I am interested in bringing new chemistries into metabolic pathways to generate novel natural products, and developing assays for directed evolution of these pathways
Leah Keiser
lkeiser@lbl.gov Education Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University. Research My research interests include synthetic biology and protein engineering. I am researching how we can engineer polyketide synthases for the efficient production of novel products.
Aidan Cowan
aidancowan@berkeley.edu Education Ph.D. student in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Berkeley B.A. in Biology, Macalester College Research Aidan is interested in developing selection systems that allow for the evolution of proteins or strains with desirable traits. He takes a combinatorial approach to experimental design and is excited by large and diverse DNA libraries. […]
Kevin Yin
kyyin@lbl.gov Education Microbiology PhD student in UC Berkeley Plant and Microbial Biology department B.S. in Microbiology from UCLA Research I am interested in harnessing microbes’ diverse metabolic capabilities to address environmental challenges. Approaches I’m particularly interested in using to achieve this include genome mining and polyketide synthase engineering. LinkedIn Twitter
Michael Cronce
Education B.S. in Biology, UNC Chapel Hill Research I am a student in the UCSF- UC Berkeley Graduate Program in Bioengineering. My general research interests include mechanisms of infectious disease, metabolic engineering, and therapeutic R&D. Access to proper nutrition and consistent medical treatment presents a substantial challenge in developing countries. Living therapeutics, such as engineered […]