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Fourteen talented undergraduate students and their mentors convened at the Center for Synthetic Biology (CSB)’s annual undergraduate research symposium on August 19 to celebrate the conclusion of their summer research projects. Students from the Synthetic Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates (SynBREU) and DeFeo Family Foundation Undergraduate Research Initiative gave detailed presentations highlighting their work, followed by lunch, a poster session and reception. 

SynBREU participant James Belgrave from Amherst College presents his project, “Identifying and alleviating potential bottlenecks in the catabolism of lignin-derived aromatics by Pseudomonas putida.”

Students in CSB’s SynBREU program visit Northwestern from universities across the US to complete the ten-week full-time summer research program. In the DeFeo program, Northwestern students perform two quarters of full-time summer research and 10-hours-per-week of academic research during students’ junior and senior years. Generous stipends cover research time, materials and supplies.

“Students don’t necessarily get a lot of exposure to synthetic biology in their normal curriculum. They learn basic chemistry and biology, but the idea of manipulating biology for different applications is something that most students won’t encounter,” says preceptor Gabe Rocklin, co-director of the SynBREU program. “Combining that exposure to synthetic biology with full-time research experience is really unique and helps draw people into research careers.” 

From designing an in-vitro model of atherosclerosis to exploring metabologenomics-driven fungal natural products, the students’ summer research experiences reflected the diverse and broad nature of synthetic biology. 

New Skills and Friends 

“The program provided a very structured way for me to participate in research,” says Rohan Sohini, a DeFeo Program participant who worked in the Goyal lab.  “Last summer I was a part of another grant, but I didn’t have any of the programming or learning opportunities. Through this program, I got to meet new people and improve my writing and presenting skills — all things that are really helpful.” 

SynBREU program participant Roxana Jafari Haddadian, a UIU student who conducted her summer research in the Kriegman lab presents her project: “Computational Billiards Simulations: Optimizing Synthetic Biological Systems”.

Learning for both the SynBREU and DeFeo programs takes place inside Northwestern laboratories where students conduct hands-on synthetic biology-related research and receive valuable laboratory training and mentorship from CSB faculty and graduate students.  

“The thing to remember about summer research is that the campus is very different over the summer than it is during the school year. Students come here for research, but they still exist as whole people. It is important that they have friends that they can hang out with,” says Erica Hartmann, who mentored Rachel Chubb, a student at Wellesley College, in her lab. “It creates this cohort that you’re not worried about them getting lonely or homesick because they’re a part of this group and they’re happy to be here.”  

The chance to meet new friends made a big difference for Chubb who participated in the SynBREU program. 

“We had a little bootcamp at the beginning where we got to know each other.  Our cohort bonded very well,” says Chubb. “We’ve gone out and done things almost every weekend together. We’ve had dinner together every night. It’s been great getting to know everyone.” 

2024 Symposium Participants 

Below lists the undergraduate students from both programs, their home institutions, the Northwestern lab where they conducted their research and their presentation topics. 

SynBREU Program Participants: 

  • James Belgrave, Amherst College, Aristilde lab, “Identifying and alleviating potential bottlenecks in the catabolism of lignin-derived aromatics by Pseudomonas putida” 
  • Spencer Brown, Haverford College, Kelleher lab, “Metabologenomics-driven Fungal Natural Products Discovery”  
  • Rachel Chubb, Wellesley College, Hartmann lab, “Exploring Phage Susceptibility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa” 
  • Gabrielle Conover, Elon University, Prindle lab, “A FACS-based genetic screen to discover a novel γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) biosynthesis enzyme in Bacillus subtilis” 
  • Roxana Jafari Haddadian, UIUC, Kriegman lab, “Computational Billiards Simulations: Optimizing Synthetic Biological Systems” 
  • Grace Lin, Florida State University, Leonard lab, “Engineering synthetic epigenetic regulation to enable state-switching generic programs in mammalian cells” 
  • Carolyn Payne, William & Mary, Kamat lab, “Investigating the addition of a bacterial histidine kinase to increase protein yields of cell-free reactions” 
  • Tatum Smith, University of Alabama, Rosenzweig lab, “Steps towards characterizing the structure and function of a novel mutinuclear iron oxygenase enzyme” 
  • Emily Valerio, University of Pennsylvania, Mrksich lab, “Comparing Protease-Labile Peptide Linkers in Megamolecule-Drug Conjugates” 
  • Linda Wang, University of Washington (Seattle), Goyal lab, “Exploration of cell-extrinsic factors that control drug resistance outcomes in cancer” 

DeFeo Program Participants (Northwestern Students): 

  • Natalia Barna, Tullman-Ercek lab, “Optimization of Mfp5 Production Through T3SS-Mediated Protein Secretion” 
  • Margaret Guilarte-Silva, Broadbelt lab, “Harnessing the biosynthetic machinery of natural products for biomanufacturing” 
  • Caleb Nunes, Volpatti lab, “Designing an In-Vitro Model of Atherosclerosis” 
  • Maggie Schneider, Aristilde lab, “Investigating the Versatility of Soil Enzymes for Nutrient Recycling” 
  • Rohan Sohini, Goyal lab, “Investigating the regulatory frameworks underlying transcriptional compensation” 

“Several of the SynBREU students have come back to Northwestern as graduate students and have made a big impact on our labs.  They also have recommended Northwestern as a grad school to their friends,” says Rocklin. “By taking bright students and moving them in the direction of these research areas, we grow the whole research field and that ends up being good for everyone.”