2023
Andres Ardon
Institute: Del Valle de Guatemala University
Andres is a senior student at Del Valle de Guatemala University, pursuing a major in biochemistry. This summer, he is working in the Baker Lab designing DNA-binding proteins using de novo protein design tools. He is deeply passionate about the convergence of protein design and directed evolution, believing these approaches to be invaluable in the quest to create new molecules that can help us address the environmental and medical challenges of the 21st century. In the future, he aspires to contribute to biomedical research and gene editing. He finds joy in writing poetry, practicing aerial silks, and performing stand-up comedy.
Priya Christensen
Institute: University of Washington
Priya is a rising junior at the University of Washington pursuing a B.S. in Public Health-Global Health and Biochemistry on the premed track. This summer she is continuing her research with the King Lab on developing adjuvants for vaccine applications using protein nanoparticles under the guidance of Marti Tooley. In her free time she enjoys cooking, playing the piano, and going on adventures in Seattle.
Sarah Jiménez Rojas
Institute: University of the Andes
Sarah is a rising junior majoring in biology at Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia and minoring in computational mathematics. This summer, she is working on designing a capsid-like nanoparticle as a possible vaccine for the Zika virus. Outside of classes, Sarah enjoys reading and cooking Colombian desserts such as “Arroz con leche”.
Beau Joshua Lonnquist
Institute: University of Washington
Beau is a rising junior at the University of Washington where he is pursuing a degree in Bioengineering. This Summer, he’ll be working with Cameron Glasscock and Robert Pecoraro at the Institute for Protein Design to design de novo DNA-binding homodimers for genetic regulation and manipulation. Beau is passionate about exploring the intersection of computation and medicine, especially applications of machine learning. In his free time, he enjoys training for triathlons, playing board games, and any activities where he can get out on the water.
Anish Murli Mulchandani
Institution: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Neil King
Anish is a rising senior studying biology IISER in Pune, India.
This summer, he is trying to develop a nanoparticle-based vaccine for Dengue fever, drawing on the vaccine platforms developed at the Institute for Protein Design. Previously he has participated in the iGEM synthetic biology competition, developing a therapy for Dengue, and conducted academic research on peptide design at his home institution. In his free time, he prefers to play soccer and read nonfiction.
Emily Na
Institute: University of Washington
Emily is a rising senior studying Biochemistry at the University of Washington. This summer, she is continuing her work at the Institute for Protein Design (Baker lab) on engineering DNA-binding proteins. Her project aims to design heterodimers with improved binding specificity and affinity for transcription regulation. She grew up in Japan + South Korea and enjoys learning new languages in her free time.
Aidan Wegner
Institute: University of Colorado Boulder
Aidan is a rising senior undergraduate student studying Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a summer research fellow at the Institute for Protein Design, developing novel immunogen presenting protein nanoparticles in hopes of producing a vaccine for blood stage malaria. At his home institution, Aidan is working on using molecular dynamics to study the interfacial interactions between protein-polymer conjugates and metal oxide surfaces. He is interested in pursuing a PhD in chemical or biological engineering in the future. In addition, he likes to cook, hike, and play soccer in his spare time.
Avery Yang
Institute: University of California, Berkeley
Avery is a rising senior at UC Berkeley, where she studies chemical biology and music. This summer, she is working in the Baker Lab to design proteins that bind to specific DNA sequences and evaluate their efficacy and orthogonality. In her free time, she likes to play piano and compose music!