Experience

Sound Agriculture

• United States
• Agriculture, Construction, Mining Machinery Manufacturing
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Research Manager

  • Jul 2022 - Present

• Research Scientist III

  • Nov 2021 - Jul 2022



Zymergen

• United States
• Biotechnology Research
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Scientist II

  • Jan 2020 - Nov 2021

• Scientist I

  • Sep 2018 - Jan 2020

  San Francisco Bay Area My current role functions at the intersection of biology, data science, and technology. I work on engineering microbial "living machines" to produce commercial, bio-based products - using all of the automation along the way.



The University of Texas at Austin

• PhD

  • Aug 2013 - Aug 2018

  Austin, Texas Area Thesis: Evolution of Evolutionary Potential > Engineering genetic stability in commonly used host organisms (E. coli and S. cerevisiae) via directed evolution > Characterizing mechanisms involved in genetic stability to map how synthetic devices behave (and evolve) inside of host organisms > Teased apart the complex evolutionary path to citrate utilization in the E. coli Long-term Evolution Experiment > Developed a DIY-friendly method for making non-agar… Show more Thesis: Evolution of Evolutionary Potential > Engineering genetic stability in commonly used host organisms (E. coli and S. cerevisiae) via directed evolution > Characterizing mechanisms involved in genetic stability to map how synthetic devices behave (and evolve) inside of host organisms > Teased apart the complex evolutionary path to citrate utilization in the E. coli Long-term Evolution Experiment > Developed a DIY-friendly method for making non-agar microbial growth plates Show less



Berkeley Lab

• United States
• Research Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Senior Research Associate

  • Jun 2010 - Jun 2013

  Berkeley, California > Engineered tolerance to lignocellulosic feedstock and improved ethanol fermentation in the ethanol-producing bacterium, Z. mobilis, for biofuel production > Dissected the genetic basis and modeled microbial (S. cerevisiae and Z. mobilis) tolerance to lignocellulosic feedstock



University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• MS Graduate Student

  • Jan 2008 - Nov 2009

  Thesis: Using redundancy in coenzyme A biosynthesis in Salmonella enterica to probe metabolic integration and robustness > Identified new metabolic connections in S. enterica by examining pathways connected to thiamine biosynthesis and using classical genetics/biochemistry techniques



The School for Field Studies

• Research Intern

  • Jan 2006 - May 2006

  > Sampled and tagged juvenile lemons sharks, Negaprion brevirostris, to assess the location of nursery areas and gain insight into lemon shark behavior