Hal Alper, Ph.D.

B.S: Chemical Engineering, University of Maryland at College Park

Ph.D: Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Post-doc: Whitehead Institute

Post-doc: Shire Human Genetic Therapies

Jie Sun, Ph.D.

B.S, Ph.D: Biochemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology

Email: jsun AT che.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in developing novel methods for in vivo directed evolution in yeast as well as demonstrating the capacity through pathway engineering applications. I am also interested in engineering yeast to realize potential consolidated bioprocessing for biofuels and biopharmaceuticals production.

Interests: I love travelling, cooking, doing yoga, listening to any kind of jazz and blues music, and watching movies.

Joe Abatemarco

B.S: Chemical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Email: jabatem1 AT gmail.com

Research: I am interested in metabolic engineering of yeast cells to improve industrial production of biochemicals and therapeutics.

Interests: I enjoy cooking, playing video games and board games, reading classic science fiction, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Johnny Blazeck

B.S: Chemical Engineering, University of Florida

Email: jblazeck AT gmail.com

Research: I am interested in synthetic promoter development for controlled and improved gene expression utilizing multiple techniques, most recently a hybrid promoter engineering approach. I am also engineering two yeast systems, Yarrowia lipolytica and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to increase production of a variety of products.

Interests: I love spending all day with my son at the park. I enjoy playing every intramural sport, and I really enjoy Austin’s music scene.

Joseph Cheng

B.S: Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan

M.Eng: Pharmaceutical Engineering, University of Michigan

Email: chengj AT utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in incorporating protein engineering with metabolic engineering for therapeutic applications.

Interests: I am a volleyball addict (played for UM Men's club team) and I also enjoy snowboarding, tennis, hiking (+photography), rock climbing, and good food.

Nathan Crook

B.S: Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology

Email: crook AT che.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in developing new tools which will allow for the efficient incorporation of novel synthetic pathways into yeast and E. coli

Interests: I enjoy photography, gardening, hiking, traveling, live music, and rubik's cubes of all sizes.

Kate Curran

B.S: Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame

Email: morank AT che.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in developing novel methods of engineering yeast for the optimized production of biochemicals and biofuels.

Interests: My favorite hobbies include making pottery on the pottery wheel, playing viola, skiing, hiking, cooking and enjoying good food with friends and family.

Andrew Hill

B.S: Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University

Email: abhill AT mail.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in applying genetic engineering to produce new phenotypes in Yarrowia lipolytica that will improve fatty acid accumulation to allow for the production of industrially important chemicals

Interests: I enjoy reading, playing games of strategy, and spending time with relatives and close friends.

Amanda Lanza

B.S: Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Email: lanza AT che.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in new tools for the stable transfection of mammalian cells as well as the ability to target locations in the genome with high transcriptional activity.  This work will be funded in part by an NSF graduate fellowship.

Interests: I am an avid long distance runner and have completed 6 marathons with a personal best of 3:35:09.  I also enjoy skiing, hiking, cooking and traveling.

John Leavitt

B.S: Biochemistry, University of Texas at Austin

Email: leavitt AT utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in utilizing the tools of synthetic biology for the production of specialty chemicals in bacteria and yeast.

Interests: I enjoy cooking, powerlifting and strategy games.

Sun-mi Lee

B.S: Biotechnology and Environmental Science, Korea University

M.S: Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University

Research Scientist: Korea Institute of Science and Technology

Email: sunmilee AT che.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in engineering of bacteria for advanced biofuel production.

Interests: I am a travel lover. I'd like to have a collection of city cups from around the world. I enjoy having nice food with my friends and doing yoga.

Leqian Liu

B.S: Biochemistry, East Tennessee State University

B.S: Biotechnology, Shandong Normal University

Email: leqianliu AT gmail.com

Research: I am interested in developing an integrative approach to engineering complex cellular phenotypes in yeast.

Interests: I like traveling, cooking, tasting different kinds of food, reading Chinese martial arts novels and also doing sports with friends.

Heidi Redden

B.S: Biochemistry, California State University, San Bernadino

Email: hredden AT gmail.com

Research: I am interested in developing techniques to modulate gene and protein expression in yeast and E.coli.

Interests: I love cooking healthy foods, running until my feet hurt and taking my Aussie and cattle dog for outdoor adventures. I also have an obsession for the tropics and have visited many countries in Central and South America.

Eric Young

B.S: Chemical Engineering, University of Maine

B.S: Biological Engineering, University of Maine

Email: young AT che.utexas.edu

Research: I am interested in engineering proteins involved in pentose metabolism for the improved production of ethanol from biomass in a yeast host system.

Interests: I am a guitarist, a bibliophile, and a barbecue enthusiast. My other hobbies include writing music, hiking, and sailing.