On what a Scientist is supposed to be

“Scientists are people of very dissimilar temperaments doing different things in very different ways. Among scientists are collectors, classifiers, and compulsive tidiers-up; many are detectives by temperament and many are explorers; some are artists and others artisans. There are poet-scientists and philosopher-scientists and even a few mystics. Obligative scientists must be very rare and most people who are in fact scientists could easily have been something else” – Sir Peter Medawar, The Strange Case of the Spotted Mice and Other Classic Essays on Science



Principal Investigator:


Dr. Aindrila Mukhopadhyay


PI, M-group. Senior Scientist, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL, VP Biofuels and Bioproducts, JBEI. Adjunct Faculty SOLS, ASU. Adjunct Prof. Comparative Biochemistry, UC Berkeley.


EMAIL: amukhopadhyat at lbl dot gov


Research Interest: Many microbial biomanufacturing, genetics and genomics projects. All of them relate to obtaining a better understanding of how microbes regulate complex phenotypes like metabolism, signaling, and stress response and how they can be engineered for better bioproduction. Or to simply to understand their role in their environment.


Personal interests: I love to draw. I like to read – the last good books I’ve read are all non-fiction by Ursula Le Guin. A great spot in East Bay is Lake Merritt by the bird sanctuary.




CV






Research Scientists:






Dr. Thomas Eng553555_810673940768_1539758969_n


Research Scientist, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL


EMAIL: tteng@lbl.gov


Ph.D. Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, 2015

B.S. Biology, MIT, 2007






FAVORITE SCIENTIST: A tie between Rosalind Franklin and Dr. Horrible (unclear if he REALLY has a medical degree).


WEBSITE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/engthomas










Dr. Deepanwita Banerjee


Research Scientist, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL


EMAIL: dbanerjee@lbl.gov




Ph.D. Biological Sciences, CSIR – National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India

M. Tech. Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India

B. Tech. Biotechnology, MDU Rohtak, India






Research interests: I am currently working on computationally driven host engineering for growth-coupled production of biofuels and bioproducts using the Product Substrate Pairing (PSP) approach. I use computational strain optimization methods and genome scale metabolic models (GSM) to predict gene targets for engineering Pseudomonas putida. I am also working towards predicting PSP strategies in P. putida for utilization of lignocellulose derived carbon sources for bioenergy and biomanufacturing applications. The goal is to test and learn to better design robust and sustainable microbial hosts that maintain desirable phenotype across industrially relevant scales and conditions.








Personal interests: Outside of work, I like to cook, craft, paint and photograph. Currently obsessed with gardening and learning more about growth promoting micro and macronutrients for plants.





Postdoctoral Fellows:


 






 Dr. Aparajitha Srinivasan


Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL


EMAIL: asrinivasan@lbl.gov


PhD. Biotechnology, IIT Madras, Chennai, India

M.Tech. Marine Biotechnology, CUSAT, Kochi, India

B.Tech. Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Tanjore, India


Research interests: I am currently working on engineering Corynebacterium         glutamicum and Pseudomonas putida to utilize plant biomass components for     production of biofuels and bioproducts.


Personal interests: Outside of work, I like to read science fiction, watch sitcoms,  cook, play board/card games with friends. Currently obsessed with daily  Wordle/Dordle challenge and reading “The Code Breaker”.


WEBSITE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aparajitha-srinivasan/


















Dr. Shweta Priya


Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL


EMAIL: spriya@lbl.gov


PhD in soil microbiology, Texas A&M University

MS in Microbiology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)


 


Research interests: I am working on m-CAFEs project and my role is to understand the persistence and fate of engineered microbes across rhizosphere communities using fabricated ecosystems and to determine how environmental stresses such as drought impact the migration and fitness of these engineered systems.


Personal interests: In my free time like traveling and reading fiction novels.




 


Dr. Vishalakshi Bhanot


 


Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL


EMAIL: vbhanot@lbl.gov


PhD: BITS Pillani, India


 


Research interests: TBA


Personal interests: TBA






Dr. Saad Naseem


Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Systems & Engineering, LBNL


EMAIL: snaseem@lbl.gov


PhD:


 


 


Research interests: TBA


Personal interests: TBA














Graduate Students:








Alex Codik


Graduate Student, Comparative Biochemistry, UC Berkeley


EMAIL: acoodik@lbl.gov






Research Associate at Zymergen, 2020

B.S. Biochemistry, Santa Clara University, 2018


Research interests: I am currently participating in The ENIGMA project testing different environmental isolates, and working on growth-coupled strategies in Pseudomonas putida.


Personal interests: On my free time I like reading science fiction, trying different foods and restaurants and working out.


 


Javier Menasalvas


Research Assistant, Biological Systems and Engineering Division


EMAIL: jmenasalvas@lbl.gov


B.S. Biotechnology, Europea University of Madrid






Research Assistants:




Alex Rivier


Research Assistant, Biological Systems and Engineering Division


 


 


 


 




Undergraduate students:


Morgan Apolonio


Undergraduate Researcher, Biological Systems and Engineering Division


Email: mapolonio@lbl.gov


 


 Courtney White


Undergraduate Researcher, Biological Systems and Engineering Division


Email: ciwhite@lbl.gov














Visiting Scholars






Diamond Mangrum


Visiting Scholar, Biological Systems and Engineering Division


Email: DMangrum@lbl.gov








We are always happy to have visiting scholars! Please contact us to find out how to become a visiting scholar at LBL and in our group.






 




Alumni and Former Visiting Scholars