Aditya Kunjapur
@kunjapur
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Assistant Professor @UDChBE @UDelaware | Expanding the repertoire of microbial chemistry and sending positive vibes | #synbio
Newark, DE
Joined November 2013
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Interested in learning more about synthetic biology?
This spring I'm piloting a YouTube series about
#synbio
aimed towards an undergraduate audience. You'll find it soon on the Kunjapur Lab Academy YT channel.
Here's a teaser:
#education
#scicomm
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🚨New paper alert
We report advances at the intersection of metabolic engineering & genetic code expansion that allow a bacterium to create and harness a nitrated amino acid on its own
This is the work of the incredible
@Neil_D_Butler
#synbio
1/n
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Very honored to receive this recognition from
@ScienceMagazine
& the BioInnovation Institute
@BioCPH
for our bacterial vaccine research. Would not be possible without entrepreneurial students like
@Neil_D_Butler
& fantastic collaborators like
@cfromen
!
🎉 Congratulations to
@kunjapur
, winner of the 2024 BioInnovation Institute & Science Prize for Innovation for his work toward building a better platform for possible future bacterial vaccines.
Learn more:
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We are looking for postdocs in the area of synthetic microbial communities - please spread the word!
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Easily the highlight of the Metabolic Engineering
#ME15
conference
@Moon_Synth_Bio
@drksolomon
@Keasling_Lab
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A big thank you to
@ChEnected
for promoting biotechnology entrepreneurship among chemical engineering faculty and for the wonderful Langer Prize award, named after living legend
@MITChemE
prof Bob Langer (1/2)
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I'm over the moon that
@NIH_CommonFund
has given our bacterial vaccine design efforts a major boost. Thank you to the collaborators & mentors who encouraged taking on pressing problems even if risky
#NIHHighRisk
@cfromen
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New photo of our research group from our 4th annual lab banquet
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🚨New paper alert
Enzymes can turn breakdown products of PET plastic into useful diamines or monoamines at high yield and selectivity for applications in higher-value materials.
Now published in
@ACSCatalysis
Great work led by
@madan_gopal_
#biocatalysis
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Postdoc candidates: If you're interested in designing symbioses that redefine the phrase "synthetic ecology", & if you don't mind donning formal wear once a year, then apply for a position in our group!
(1/2)
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I'm thrilled to share that I'll start as an Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
@UDelaware
in Jan 2019! Thanks so much to mentors, labmates, co-authors, family, and friends that supported me along this journey that's just starting
#NewPI
#BlueHens
#Synbio
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Biotechnology has so much promise but sometimes poses risks. Fortunately, we can use engineering to lower risks. In our latest paper largely from
@geochurch
's lab, we show that synthetic auxotrophy holds up over time. Life doesn't always find a way
#synbio
Synthetic biology is an emerging field with promise for improving our ability to manufacture chemicals, develop therapeutic medicines such as biopharmaceuticals and vaccines, and enhance agricultural production, among other things.
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Happy Friday! My lab seeks to hire 1 or 2 postdocs to start this academic year (preferably this fall). Our
#synbio
projects focus on teaching cells to create and harness new chemistries. We're an inclusive lab with a culture of helping each other and having fun. Details below
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I'm very grateful to
@USNavyResearch
for supporting our YIP submission! It was fun to find out the news this evening in a series of texts from friends and colleagues
@UDelaware
like
@drksolomon
@MarkBlenner
@laure_kayser
@CharlesDhong
(1/3)
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Our lab's first PhD thesis defense is tomorrow at 10a! We invite the
@UDelaware
and
@UDChBE
communities to attend Neil Butler's defense
"Development of a platform for distributed production of nitrated proteins in bacteria"
@Neil_D_Butler
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An ad hoc review panel on tacos by some of your favorite
#synbio
junior faculty
@ACS_BIOT
@GallowayLabMIT
@Albert_Keung
@sunlab12
@Demirer_GozdeS
@Moon_Synth_Bio
@CarlDenard
@mrmansell
@sarmazdehlab
@ericmyces
@AhmedHBadran
@SyntBio
Larry Stern Danny Woldring Andrew Jones & more
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Our lab took a group photo in time for the new academic year. It's such a privilege to mentor these outstanding students and postdocs. Also, we clean up nice!
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In Pasadena CA nine out of ten days a year are sunny and dry. Not so today for my visit to
@Caltech
@CaltechCCE
(1/3)
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Our lab's first preprint is now available! Awesome work led by
@Neil_D_Butler
for the production of a nitroaromatic building block. Foundational piece of a larger lab/startup vision.
Will discuss the paper more if/when it gets published
#synbio
#metabolicengineering
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I had such a great time visiting
@UWChemE
yesterday! Thanks
@SyntBio
@julie_rorrer
@coledeforest
@profnance
@JimPfaendtner
@jeffnivala
James Carothers & Jesse Zalatan for the wonderful conversations!
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In SP23 I taught an elective called Biochemical Engineering for the first time
I felt perpetually behind & frazzled during the semester but tried my best to share my enthusiasm for a topic I find fascinating & important
I was overjoyed to see the full set of student evals
1/2
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#SynBio
@UDelaware
@UDChBE
adding some firepower 🔥 with the hire of
@drksolomon
. Welcome to the team, Kevin!
@WilfredChen1
#KelvinLee
#TerryPapoutsakis
Our efforts in this field are growing and there may be more exciting developments soon
Each month, we introduce you to one of the anaerobic fungal researchers within our network, giving you insight into how they are advancing the knowledge and impact of
#anaerobicfungi
.
This month, we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Solomon
@drksolomon
.
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In work led by
@StorkDevon
& in collaboration between
@fleshball
&
@geochurch
, we report site-specific incorporation of a variety of non-standard amino acids in Bacillus subtilis for several purposes including interrogation of bacterial cytokinesis. Now out in
@NatureComms
(1/2)
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Not a bad week for the undergraduates in our lab.
Senior
@ishika_govil
earned an
@nsf
graduate research fellowship.
& Junior Miyu Mudalamane earned a
@GoldwaterSC
Scholarship.
Congrats, Ishika and Miyu!!
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Are you interested in an opportunity to shape the future of microbial synthetic biology? Apply to be our lab coordinator
We are also looking for multiple postdocs (biocontainment within communities, biosensor-aided enzyme engineering) & PhD students
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For our recruitment weekend we were preparing to launch faculty superhero renderings thanks to the work of
@colorfulmatt
- Check out mine! Really awesome new initiative by grad admissions directors
@AKloxinGroup
@BingjunXu
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The first episode of the SynBio Transcript is out! It's an educational series aimed at undergraduate and junior graduate students. Meant to be complementary to traditional lectures. Check it out here:
#synbio
#scicomm
#education
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🚨New paper alert
I'm delighted to share our new publication in Metabolic Engineering that was a team effort led by
@Neil_D_Butler
We found a bunch of surprising findings about the stability of aldehydes supplemented to bacterial cells
Free access here
1/n
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A seminar at Wisconsin kicked off a 2-month roadshow colloquially known as the tenure tour
Possibly coming to a university near you
@ASU
@GeorgiaTech
@UTAustin
@Stanford
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If you're using GMO bacteria or studying pathogens, you probably don’t want them to grow outside the lab. Unfortunately, current techniques for intrinsic biological containment won’t prevent that. Well, we have some good news in our latest preprint (1/4)
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Thank you
@CellPressNews
for highlighting our recent review article!
@kunjapur
is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at the
@Udelaware
with a passion for developing renewable alternatives for fuel.
#earlycareerresearchers
#trendseditorspick
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Last night we had our third annual lab banquet and it was a delight.
New group photos coming to our website soon!
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Online learning is no substitute for in class learning.
But when I was in HS and college I loved watching videos
@MITOCW
to supplement or get a glimpse of new topics. That's why I'm excited to share my recorded lectures about Metabolic Engineering (1/n)
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I'm honored to be one of this year's ELBI fellows and grateful to
@JHSPH_CHS
and to
@UDengineering
for the wonderful profile of our new lab. It's an exciting time as setup is complete and projects are taking off 🧫🦠🚀
Congratulations to
#UDel
's Aditya Kunjapur, named to 'Emerging Leaders in
#Biosecurity
Initiative' fellowship program at
@JHSPH_CHS
.
@UDengineering
@kunjapur
@UDChBE
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Aryl amines are chemicals that play important roles as industrial building blocks
Our latest preprint shares green design routes to produce them from lignin breakdown products. Work led by post-doc Priyanka Nain
#sustainabilty
#biocatalysis
#synbio
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I'm happy to share our latest publication in which we convert lignin-derived carboxylic acids to amines using both cell-free and whole cell biocatalytic strategies
This work was led by our postdoc Priyanka Nain
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It's been super fun to lead a mini lab within the Church Lab this summer. Our awesome team is advancing the frontiers of protein engineering and here we are in action!
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Hope everyone's week is off to a good start
If you are interested in upcycling plastic wastes using biocatalysis, then check out our paper just published this morning in the
@ChEnected
AIChE Journal
#biocatalysis
#genomeengineering
1/2
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A friendly reminder that we're looking for creative and motivated
#synbio
postdocs! While we have some interest in certain skill sets (chembio or protein design), enthusiasm for what an expanded chemical repertoire can do for cells is a great starting point with which to apply
Happy Friday! My lab seeks to hire 1 or 2 postdocs to start this academic year (preferably this fall). Our
#synbio
projects focus on teaching cells to create and harness new chemistries. We're an inclusive lab with a culture of helping each other and having fun. Details below
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New preprint from the lab:
We're kicking off 2023 with a ROAR (strain)
Aldehyde are useful building blocks for biochemicals, but they also inhibit cell growth
To overcome that you can grow cells first and then use them for biocatalysis
But something unexpected happens (1/3)
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To undergrads applying to graduate programs for
#synbio
research - consider applying to the PhD program in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
@UDChBE
@UDelaware
. We've grown in this area but have been short of grad students by double digits 2Y running now (1/3)
*RTs appreciated*
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Really looking forward to the first of two admitted grad student virtual visit weekends
@UDChBE
@UDelaware
next weekend.
#Synbio
is growing rapidly in our department and neat opportunities exist for literally dozens joining to pursue research in this area
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.
@francesarnold
@CarolynBertozzi
and Michelle Chang (Berkeley) just to name a few! They are the absolute best at three directions related to our lab: New-to-nature chemistry, bio-orthogonal conjugation, and non-standard amino acid biosynthesis. Incredibly inspiring work
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This a very well-researched, well-written, timely, and important preprint of a review article from the group of
@Geneticdesigner
. It will undoubtedly help steer academic researchers, regulatory agencies, and funding agencies alike
#synbio
Engineering Bacteria for Environmental Release: Regulatory Challenges and Design Strategies
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On my way to Orlando for
@ChEnected
#AIChEAnnual
& suited up in my finest conference attire
@jarboe_laura
@MarkBlenner
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The 2010s began for me with a roadtrip to see Texas play Alabama in the National Championship Game. The next week I got a call admitting me for a PhD
@MITChemE
. So began a challenging adventure that shaped the decade. Here's to more uncharted journeys for all of us in the 2020s
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Last paper from grad school finally came out. The vanillate biosensor works really well, particularly the evolved form from the
@Geneticdesigner
lab. It's available on Addgene. Vanillate is an inexpensive and orthogonal inducer. And of course the vanillin pathway is pretty sweet
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A sobering reminder that the acquisition of Zymergen for $300M today is just ~14 months after the company went public at a valuation of $3B
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Great to connect with the community in person again
@ChEnected
. And having extra fun with the badge ribbons this year
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Welcome incoming students
@UDelaware
@UDChBE
!
An extra welcome to the incoming graduate students in possibly the largest bio-oriented cohort in our program ever.
Lots of projects in the dept to go around. We'll be offering 3 this fall
#biomedical
#synbio
#vaccines
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🚨New preprint alert
If you're interested in making value-added compounds from plastic waste, then check out our new preprint. We show how to selectively convert terephthalaldehyde (which can be derived from PET) to multiple products using bacteria
1/2
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As
#AIChEAnnual
is wrapping up, and Twitter might be too, it's time to commemorate both with a group pic
Find us on Mastodon or LinkedIn
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University of Delaware raising $6M Launch Fund for student-founded startups
Super excited to see that the local entrepreneurial ecosystem is rapidly growing - come to
@UDelaware
@UDChBE
@udhorn
to be a part of it!
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It's been one of my favorite weeks as a faculty member.
Highlights:
- Lab member Michaela Jones gave a great talk at the
@EngBioRC
meeting
- Lab undergraduate Miyu Mudalamane defended her awesome senior honors thesis
- First graduate students received their doctoral hoods
1/2
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Among the many things I'm thankful for as Thanksgiving is around the corner - I'm excited to give my first departmental seminar since I was on the job market in Spring 2018. Looking forward to virtually connecting tomorrow with the engineering faculty and students
@USouthFlorida
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Our summer undergrads did a fantastic job sharing their research findings at the 2023
@UDelaware
Summer Research Symposium last week
Be on the lookout for these UGs as some apply to graduate school in the coming years: Abigail, Defne, Miyu, Nastassja, Anu, Josh, Vishal
#synbio
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Arnold, Doudna, and now Bertozzi!
Incredible group of investigators and contributions in protein chemistry and engineering
The Twitter polls predicted this one
#NobelPrize
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Our group will be sharing some science at
#AIChE2023
throughout the week
Looking forward to reconnecting with old friends & making new ones
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Almost time for
#ACSSpring2022
in San Diego!
@ACS_BIOT
program kicks off Sunday, including a Spotlight on Upstream Processes chaired by
@genegirl007
& me. Keynotes by
@DunlopLab
& Karen McDonald.
#Entrepreneurship
panel including speakers from
@ConcertoBio
@64xbio
@novomebio
!
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An excellent choice of an afternoon for a belated celebration of Holi, the Indian festival of color,
@UDelaware
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Grateful for support and recognition from
@udhorn
to our start-up Nitro Biosciences, first through a Blue Hen Proof of Concept award and now through a 2022 Blue Hen 17&43 award
#Entrepreneurship
#synbio
@Neil_D_Butler
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I'm excited to attend the
#synbio
Gordon Research Conference
@GordonConf
, my first GRC.
My flight this morning was cancelled due to weather but I'm rebooked on a same-day flight to a different city.
Hope I make it in time for tonight's opening talks on genome design
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If you're interested in using
#biocatalysis
to design better materials or to recycle/upcycle materials through "functional group interconversion", then check out our lab's latest review written by Madan Gopal
Link provides free access before Apr 17
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If you're staying for the end of the
@ChEnected
#AICHE2021
then consider attending my first invited session talk. I'll describe work
@UDChBE
that hasn't been presented before. SynBio Tools and Methods, Thurs 11/18 5:18-5:48p
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The 2023 Langer Prize ceremony is about to start - congrats, Albert!!
@Albert_Keung
#AIChE2023
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If it suits your time zone, check out the virtual poster session about to start at
#ME14
@ChEnected
I'll have a poster on biological containment - Group 5,
#127
, 634800.
I happened to conduct primary source research in Honolulu earlier today.
Hope to see you soon!
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In conversations about the ethics of universities taking outsized donations from Epstein or even folks like the Koch brothers, one aspect that has been underemphasized is how academic fundraising has shifted increasingly towards philanthropy and why that's a concern 1/n
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With many car companies now offering EVs, if I were on the market for a car I would definitely not support a brand that once promoted environmentally unfriendly crypto mining and is led by a conspiratorial egomaniac. It pains me even to use this app
#BoycottTesla
#BoycottTwitter
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I'll present on our lab's work on producing chemicals from renewable sources at
#DiscoverBMB
@asbmb
this weekend in Seattle.
I'm also super excited to give a seminar at
@UW
next week! It'll be my first in-person seminar at a ChemE dept in >5Y, since I was on the job market (1/2)
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Our lab's latest
#OpenAccess
publication should be of interest to researchers in natural products & chemical biology
We report genome mining of L-threonine transaldolases that led to better homologs with low sequence ID. We used that to make nonstandard AAs by fermentation
1/n
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Woah. Guess I need to take it easy while chopping next time 😅
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Excited that next year's SEED conference is in DC. Labs from
@UDelaware
should be in high attendance
@WilfredChen1
@MarkBlenner
@drksolomon
2022 SEED (Synthetic Biology, Engineering, Evolution and Deign) in D.C. What should we be talking about?
#SynBio
#Biotechnology
#SEED2022
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.
@PabloINik
kicked off this morning's New-to-Nature Chemistry session
@SIMB_Microbio
with inspirational vignettes about adding to the periodic table of life by bottom-up biosynthesis or by hijacking catabolism
#synbio
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I thought this was an excellent essay about biomanufacturing - probably the most interesting article I've read on the subject
We need to train our future generations of biomolecular & bioprocess engineers to continually challenge the status quo & dream about alternatives
Beyond Steel Tanks 🏭
It's been fascinating to watch the growth of GLP-1 drugs.
For the first time, a bioproduct could outsell the iPhone.
But we can't make anywhere near enough of these medicines to meet demand right now in the United States—let alone globally.
I was
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A fun way to wrap up the week: we're excited to welcome the newly admitted graduate students
@UDChBE
@UDelaware
!
Also, Madan's
#biocatalysis
paper just got accepted today by ACS Catalysis! Congrats, Madan and team!!
@MPWatsonLab
@WilfredChen1
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What can DNA do for you? Find out about the latest advances in applied DNA technologies in our review published yesterday
@angew_chem
#synbio
1
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Now on the academic job market for US ChemE & BioE depts. Pending any success, I hope to eventually share tips! Stay tuned & wish me luck :)
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Thanks
@UDengineering
for the UDaily profile of our recent publication!
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You know you're a life scientist when you can't help but notice that your hotel room shower drain looks like an Eppendorf tube floating rack
(that can hold 26 tubes btw)
#DiscoverBMB
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