Serving in a volunteer advisory capacity on an ad hoc basis for ongoing projects at GFI.

Lead our efforts to analyze the broader ecosystem surrounding plant-based products and cellular agriculture and forecast potential future bottlenecks to growth for the industry. These insights get distilled into public resources as well as internal strategic guidelines for our programmatic work to alleviate current and future scientific obstacles in this emerging sector.

Advise and support start-up companies working in the alternative protein sector on their scientific strategy and research plan; serve as a resource for investors seeking support with technical due diligence; and work with established food, life science, and engineering companies seeking opportunities in this emerging field. I spearheaded several of GFI’s white papers, peer-reviewed publications, and industry magazine articles articulating the challenges and opportunities presented by the growing alternative protein sector, and I speak regularly at conferences across a wide variety of disciplines.

Occasional lecturer in the areas of biotechnology, food, and agriculture, with a particular focus on alternative proteins and the future of food.

Pioneered a bioengineered whole-cell biosensor platform for diagnostics in low-resource settings. In parallel, I participated in the graduate certificate program for the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, served as a guest lecturer, and developed and taught summer courses for high-achieving high school students through CU Science Discovery.

Ph.D. researcher in Dr. Steve Mayfield's lab. Developed synthetic gene regulatory elements for increased expression of non-native genes in chloroplasts of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Engineered a novel reporting system for quantitatively measuring targeted gene integration in the nuclear genome of C. reinhardtii, and characterized additional reporter constructs to expand the genetic toolkit of this model alga.

Developed a complete lab-based curriculum on bioengineering and served as the lead instructor for four summer courses for Academic Connections and Upward Bound. Served as teaching assistant for undergraduate courses including Introduction to Bioenergy, Recombinant DNA Technology Laboratory, and Human Nutrition.

Photosynthetic Microorganisms Molecular Biology Lab, EDGE ProgramPrimary author of the laboratory manual; assisted with a diverse cohort of 16 students, ranging from recent college graduates to individuals possessing PhDs seeking to transition into the green energy workforce.

Worked in Hubli and Mumbai, India, with a dynamic and interdisciplinary group of UC Berkeley undergraduates and graduate students on water quality testing, water treatment training, and lab training to enable university students to test for microbial water contamination. Contributed to an epidemiological study in both cities examining water storage and treatment behavior and waterborne disease incidence.

Gray Lab, JHU Department of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringSynthesized and purified rationally designed novel peptides and analyzed binding affinities and surface-catalyzed structural transitions. Technical skills included peptide synthesis, mass spectrometry, HPLC, circular dichroism spectroscopy, light microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.