Alekhya G
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
Expertise
environmental microbiology; biotechnology; genetics; biology
Bio
Hello, my name is Alekhya and I'm a microbiologist! I'm fascinated by microbial physiology and its applications towards biotechnology. Specifically, I'm curious how microbes thrive in challenging environments (anywhere from deep sea hydrothermal vents to acid mine drainages to our own intestines!) and how they adapt and evolve their physiologies in order to do so. Not only do I find it exciting to study novel ways in which microbes exist in our environment, but there's a lot we can learn (and harness) from a deeper understanding of their growth -- including engineering microbes to produce biofuels, bioplastics, bulk chemicals, and more! I received my PhD in Microbiology from UC Berkeley and am currently working in the science policy/ biotechnology regulatory space to better understand how we can encourage scientific innovation into real-world solutions. Outside of research, I enjoy reading, listening to music and podcasts, various arts & craft hobbies, baking, hanging out with friends, and tending to a growing but struggling houseplant collection.Project ideas
Microbes vs Fossil Fuels: Are bacteria the new bioplastic solution?
Our society's dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels contributes to the ongoing global warming crisis, and researchers are actively working towards renewable, carbon-neutral solutions to supply our need for energy, fuel, plastics, chemicals, and more. One promising alternative is microbial biotechnology: identifying bacteria that naturally produce bioenergy products and engineering them to efficiently produce these products at industrial scales. Successful examples of microbial biotechnology have already been demonstrated, such as engineering E. coli to produce bulk proteins, using fungi to produce antibiotics, using microalgae to produce biofuels, and more! In this project, students will identify bacteria that naturally produce polyhydroxybutyrate, a robust bioplastic. They will perform a bioinformatic search for bacterial genomes that contain the genes necessary for its synthesis, consider how genetically-tractable (i.e., how easy it is to genetically engineer them?) these bacteria are based on previous research in the literature, and provide examples of renewable substrates that can serve as bacterial feedstocks. The conclusion of this project will be the identification of novel microbial platforms for bioplastic production -- and perhaps, the first step towards a more renewable, carbon-neutral future!