EDUCATION
B. S. Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 2006
RESEARCH Project
Study complex phenotypes to increase bacterial solvent tolerance. Renewable energy sources are being developed as alternatives to oil, and solvents such as ethanol and butanol are already used as biofuels. To improve current processes, the titer production must be increased, the biocatalysts (cells) need to become more tolerant to the alcohol, and downstream processing of the biofuels must be optimized to increase solvent recovery. My research aims are to create more tolerant strains of bacteria able to produce ethanol or butanol using metabolic engineering. Genomic libraries can be constructed and screened to discover genes that enhance solvent tolerance. Cells containing DNA from more tolerant species can also be used to identify genes imparting improved phenotypes. Once candidate genes are selected, these can be cloned into the chromosome of host cells and create more hardy strains.
ADVISOR
Eleftherios T. Papoutsakis, University of Delaware
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH SUMMARY KEYWORDS
- Genomic libraries
- Solvent tolerance
- Biofuels
