The Biosciences Area is using science to solve energy, environmental, health, and biomanufacturing challenges. From early-career scientists to operations and support staff, it takes a diverse and dynamic team to make this type of science happen. Behind the Breakthroughs is a profile series that showcases the people who support our mission.
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Hualan Liu, Microbe Modifier
Hualan Liu, research scientist with the Joint Genome Institute (JGI)’s strain engineering platform, believes in solving real-world problems with synthetic biology. Liu is an expert at manipulating microbial DNA to carry out new functions and helping JGI’s user community answer experimental questions.
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Laura Fernandez, Fermentation Maven
Meet fermentation engineer, safety liaison, crafter, and triathlete Laura Fernandez. In her work at the ABPDU, Fernandez blends her creativity and engineering chops to hone fermentation recipes for startups, scaling up their experimental bioprocesses.
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Nigel Moriarty, Wave Wizard
Experimentation abounds for computational research scientist Nigel Moriarty. A lifelong stamp collector and surfer, Moriarty approaches culturally-distinct pockets of society with the curiosity of an anthropologist. And applying quantum chemistry and theoretical physics to drug design is part of his day-to-day work writing software with MBIB’s PHENIX group.
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Lorenzo Washington, Connection Cultivator
Tinkering with plant genetics and molecular biology gives Biosciences graduate researcher Lorenzo Washington a window into the complex, messy world of plant-microbe relationships. His passions outside of the lab, like practicing judo and tending his home garden, help Washington greet his experiments each day with renewed creativity and resilience.
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Beatriz Rett, Safety Sentinel
As the Safety Manager for the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) at Berkeley Lab, Beatriz Rett has found a way to blend her lifelong fascination with science and her desire to make an immediate difference in the lives of other people. “When employees feel heard and taken care of, they are more likely to stick…
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Dylan Chivian, Microbial Explorer
Dylan Chivian’s upbringing motivated him to help humanity and the natural world. Now a microbial scientist and coding engineer with the Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase), he’s building software tools that aim to share microbial genomic information and promote collaboration across the broader scientific community.
