Julie McDonald
Postdoctoral Fellow
Julie is a biochemist focused on the interactions between microbes and their environments. In her doctoral research (MIT) she developed directed evolution technologies to improve biological carbon fixation.
James Wang
Graduate Student
James is a chemical engineer by training (UCLA, Caltech) studying the physiology and diversity of microbial chemoautotrophs.
Sophia Adami-Sampson
Research Associate
Sophia is an environmental scientist (Bowdoin College) interested in microbial ecology. She helps run the lab and is currently working on a project connecting microbial physiology with earth history.
Eden Elkayam
Research Associate
Eden studied neuroscience and computer science (Yeshiva University). She helps run the lab and is developing our computational and experimental genomics workflows.
Zainab Aleem
Summer Student
Zainab is an undergraduate chemistry student (Bard College) exploring the world of microbiology. She is collaborating with Sophia on a microbial physiology project.
Alex Durt
Summer Student
Alex is an undergraduate ecology student (Yale) interested in mathematical and theoretical biology. She is collaborating with Julie on a sequencing-as-sensing project.
Brenda W
Volunteer
Brenda is a chemist by training (Caltech) volunteering on a computational project in the lab.
Collaborators and Friends
Akshit Goyal, TATA Bangalore
Josh Goldford, Dayhoff Labs
Karna Gowda, Ohio State
Sarah Kostinski, NYU
Yinon Bar-On, WIS
Alums
Pippa Richter
Caltech Schmidt Software Fellow, 2023-2025;
Current: NDSEG fellow, Berkeley PMB Graduate Program
Albert Li
Chemers Neustein SURF Summer Student, 2025;
Current: UCSB Senior in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology