Directed Evolution for CRISPR Therapeutics. HTP screening.

Strain engineering for new pathway discovery and development. Primarily terpene production in yeast. Technology development. Analytical chemistry assay and screening support. NGS library prep and analysis.

Scientist at the Agile Biofoundry (ABF) and Joint Bioenergy Institute (JBEI) contributed to methods development for high throughput transformation techniques and analytical sample preparation for sustainable production of chemicals from microbes. Performed strain engineering for polyketide synthase (PKS) natural product production. Member of the Keasling lab and the automation team that maintained and expanded the automation platform at LBNL Emery Station East.

Technical Lead on two client programs. Genome library generation and sequencing. Metagenomics pathway expression platform improvement and new host expression systems for natural products. Manager of two research associates.

Managed project to establish and PoC & design rules for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in C. glutamicum. Established 1st proof of concept of CRISPR editing with multiple donor types in C. glutamicum. Managed project scoping, timelines, project execution, data analysis and collaborations.Prepared DARPA report on findings. Prepared and submitted patent application on configuration. Published manuscript on results as Co-1st author. Inter-department liaison between Platform Research & Development (PR&D) and Technology and Manufacturing Production. Managed 2 research associates.

Executed project to establish and PoC & design rules for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in C. glutamicum. Established 1st proof of concept of CRISPR editing with multiple donor types in C. glutamicum.

Project lead for collaboration to identify, refactor, synthesize biosynthetic pathways to produce novel antifungal biocontrol bacteria for agricultural applications. The project involves bioinformatic identification of target pathways, design and refactoring pathways for DNA synthesis, assembly of pathways and transformation into expression hosts, metabolic characterization of expression strains using mass spectrometry and bioactivity testing against fungal phytopathogens. This project involves using multiple unique recombineering techniques for pathway assembly. A wide variety of synthetic biology design principals were tested and applied for pathway refactoring. NextGen sequencing platforms were extensively used for assembly testing and expression analysis. LCMS analysis was a primary tool for compound production testing.

PhD in Marine Biology with an emphasis on microbial biotechnology. Areas of expertise include molecular biology, analytical chemistry, microbiology, marine biology, marine chemistry, biofuels and cyanobacteria. PhD Thesis: Investigations Of The Structural Variability, Evolutionary History And Biosynthetic Mechanisms Of Cyanobacterial Hydrocarbons. Through an investigation of the structural diversity of hydrocarbon composition from a variety of cyanobacteria my research revealed novel metabolic steps and parallel pathways for hydrocarbon biosynthesis. Investigated the use of these unique enzymatic traits to genetically engineer microbes for biofuel production. California Energy Commission CLIMFS grant scientific coordinator - managed quarterly meetings and reports for cyanobacteria group (5 labs)Lab safety coordinator for 2 yrs.Mentored undergraduate assistants (6 students) and high school students (3 students)Used and maintained laboratory Thermo GC-MS (DSQII) for 4 yrs.

As a part of an NIH Biotechnology Training Grant Fellowship I was an intern in Phil Weyman's lab in the Synthetic Biology Group. I designed and assembled constructs for enhanced hydrogenase expression in Synechocystis PCC 6803 (cyanobacteria) for photosynthetic and heterotrophic hydrogen production.

Managed the Gerwick lab cyanobacterial culture collection (200 strains). Performed imaging microscopy and single cell isolation of cyanobacteria. Managed extraction and fractionation of cyanobacterial and algal collections for 2 .5 yrs. Coordinated and led 4 research expeditions (Panama 2006, Hawaii 2007, Papua New Guinea 2007, Palmyra Atoll 2008). Acted as lab manager including records maintenance, purchasing & billing, inventory and safety management.

Undergraduate Researcher. Assistant to laboratory and field marine ecology experiments. Maintained long-term (5+years) invertebrate settlement/recruitment data set for Bodega Bay. Thesis topic: Ecological Impact of Invasive Marine Bryozoan: Watersipora subtorquatahttp://www-eve.ucdavis.edu/stachowicz/stachowicz.shtml

Assistant to PhD Student Jon Price. Invertebrate separation from field experiment samples. Species identification, sediment core extraction, formalin and ethanol handling, data entry.

Animal care and handling. Setup of labs for biology lab class including tanks and cages for organisms.

Field project assistant, CO2 bubble entrapment bubble image analysis, boat handling and maintenance, underwater drilling and surfzone deployment and website design

Inoculation and screening for bacterial and fungal lettuce pathogens, lettuce greenhouse maintenance, seed collection and sorting.