Alexa Z
- Research Program Mentor
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Expertise
Drug discovery, microbial interactions, environmental microbiology, genome mining, bioengineering
Project ideas
Bacterial Fight Club: Harnessing Microbial Interactions for Drug Discovery
Have you ever wondered where the medicines we take come from? Over 60% of clinical drugs come from a biological source such as bacteria. In the environment, bacteria are constantly competing with each other and secrete small molecules that kill their neighbors. These small molecules are then discovered by scientists like us and are used as anti-cancer or antibacterial drugs. In this project you'll dive into understanding bacterial warfare and the process that goes into drug discovery--from the environment, to the laboratory, and to the hospital. This project can culminate in a review article or oral presentation that could be submitted to a journal or conference.
Rock 'n Roll Recycling: How Bacteria Can Give Metals in E-Waste A New Life
Every year people throw away old laptops and phones and replace them with newer, shinier models. As technology develops faster and faster, the amount of electronic waste that we produce keeps growing--as of right now, the world produces 52 million tons of it per year! Luckily, we can turn to bacteria to help us recycle all this waste. In this project you'll learn how bacteria can consume toxic metals and how we can engineer them to binge on waste at an industrial scale. Within this project, a citizen science approach could be taken where you could isolate your very own metal-munching bacteria. This project can also culminate in a review article or oral presentation that could be submitted to a journal or conference.