Lab and Work Experience

The ODIN, Laboratory Assistant

July 2024 — Present

The ODIN was founded by Jo Zayner to make genetic engineering education accessible to everyone. I work on making educational materials, including DIY gene-editing kits, as well as helping out with Zayner's other lab: The Embryo Corporation. 

• Conducted CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer

• Maintained and propagated HEK cell cultures and Nicotiana tabacum plants

• Prepared bulk bacterial samples, gene editing reagents, and nutrient media for consumer education materials

Ecocentric Future Lab, Researcher

January 2024 — Present

The Ecocentric Future Lab located at UT Austin, under the direction of Assistant Professor Jiabao Li, is dedicated to fostering a radical shift in our understanding of the world and our place in it. Moving beyond human-centric and profit-driven approaches, our lab explores a multi-species, eco-centric worldview that encourages collaboration and empathy with non-human intelligences.

• Received the Biodesign Challenge Grand Prize on The MoMA stage in New York City

• Presented and exhibited at Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria 

• Presented at the Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art in Seoul, Korea

• Presented at Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art and Science in Ljubljana, Slovenia

• Hosted a sold-out bioart show at Unchained Art Contemporary Gallery in Austin, Texas

• Contributed biomaterial fabrication to a Butoh performance at The Contemporary Austin, Laguna Gloria

• Spoken to a variety of audiences about the intersection of science and creativity

• Designed animal enrichment devices for Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center in Costa Rica

University Biochemistry Laboratory, Researcher & Mentor

December 2022 — Present

FRI Bioprospecting Stream | Research Advisor: Kasia Dinkeloo, PhD

I started in this lab my freshman lab as a researcher and became a peer mentor my junior year to guide younger students starting research. 

• Presented my work at five research gatherings

• Isolated and cultured plastic-degrading microbes from Zophobas morio gut biome

• Designed and tested plastic degradation experiments

• Extracted and sequenced DNA from cultures

• Cultivated and worked with model research plants

University of Texas at Austin Green Labs, Intern

July 2023 — December 2023

Green Labs helps labs use less hazardous materials in terms of toxicity and quantity; use water and energy efficient equipment; recycle and reuse materials; use equipment in energy and water efficient ways; and control inventory. 

• Organized university-wide glassware and lab consumables inventory and redistribution

• Conducted a specialty recycling program for lab materials

• Coordinated freezer defrosting program

• Informed campus researchers about Green Chemistry practices

Black Box Intelligence, Intern

May 2023 — September 2023

Black Box Intelligence empowers workforce decisions and guest experience improvements that fuel quantifiable traffic and sales growth.

• Managed data for 400+ clients using Microsoft Excel

• Collaborated with experienced professionals on large-scale analytical projects