Tim studied protein engineering and evolution with Stephen Mayo and Frances Arnold at Caltech. He then did a postdoc with George Church at Harvard, where he became an expert in bacterial genetics and synthetic biology tools. Tim brings a love of all living things to Wild Microbes, he grew up swimming and surfing, and he finds peace in the water. His favorite wild animal is the humpback whale.

Sarah studied microbial community dynamics in Elizabeth Shank's lab during her PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a skilled strain engineer and brings high-throughput assay development and automation experience to Wild Microbes. Sarah loves to cook what she can manage to grow in her garden and spend time outdoors. Her favorite wild animal is the sea turtle.

David completed his PhD at Ghent University in Belgium, focusing on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering to produce specialty carbohydrates. His passion for diverse organisms led him to Ginkgo Bioworks, where he specialized in the development of cross-bacterial tools and spearheaded a high-throughput engineering service for multiple hosts. Outside the lab, David finds joy in cooking, hiking, swimming, playing board games, and creating music. Among the vast array of wildlife, his personal favorite is the enchanting Glaucus atlanticus.

Nisha has more than 4 years biotech industry experience in microbial engineering. She is passionate about exploring the potential that microbes have to change the world for the better, particularly their relevance to environmental causes. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular and cellular biology, and conducted research into the effects of pollutants on amphibian species. In her free time, Nisha likes to hike, play soccer, and just enjoy the outdoors. Her favorite wild animal is the Orangutan.

Aishwarya studied wheat responses to heat stress during her master’s program in Plant Genetics at Montana State University. She is passionate about developing sustainable systems through cross-disciplinary work and brings her expertise in molecular biology and high throughput assays to Wild Microbes. Aishwarya loves to bake, read, hike, and spend time outdoors. Her favorite wild animal is the penguin.

Kristine is an interdisciplinary microbiologist driven to understand and engineer complex microbial behaviors. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of California - San Francisco, where she studied the molecular underpinnings of bacterial survival during interspecies competition. Outside of the lab, Kristine enjoys baking sourdough bread (edible microbiology!) and crate-digging for funk and disco records. Her favorite wild animal is the audacious city pigeon.

Sabrina earned her PhD in Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, where she investigated how viruses interact with bacteria. Intrigued by bacterial genetics and biotechnology, she shifted into the field of synthetic biology. Outside of work, Sabrina enjoys baking, learning to play various musical instruments, listening to podcasts, and playing board games. Her favorite wild animal is the mysterious slow loris.

Takeshi became interested in microbes during his undergraduate studies in Peru. He then moved to Japan where he worked on genomics and transcriptomics of secondary metabolites-producing bacteria. He obtained his PhD in synthetic biology at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology working with RNA switches and cell-free systems. In his free time, Takeshi enjoys video games, MTG, hiking, swimming, kickboxing, and football (soccer). His favorite wild animal is the mischievous squirrel.

Sam completed his bachelors degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University concentrating in Synthetic and Molecular Biology. He has experience working with soil microbes and nitrogen fixation with a passion for a diverse range of microbial functions. In his free time, Sam likes to explore the outdoors, go skiing and listen to all kinds of live music. His favorite WILD animal Is the Borneo Elephant.