Dr. Benjamin Woolston, Principal Investigator

 

Dr. Woolston joined the NEU Chemical Engineering department as an Assistant Professor in January 2020. As an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Dr. Woolston received his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2017 from MIT under the guidance of Prof. Greg Stephanopoulos, where his research focused on the development of genetic tools to enable metabolic engineering in anaerobic CO2-fixing microbes, and the establishment of a methanol utilization pathway in the model organism Escherichia coli. While at MIT, he was an inaugural Fellow of the Chemical Engineering Communication Lab, where he provided peer tutoring and department-wide workshops to assist students and post-docs with aspects of scientific communication. His Post-doctoral work was conducted in the laboratory of Prof. Emily Balskus in the Chemistry & Chemical Biology department at Harvard University, where he studied microbial metabolic pathways and enzymes that contribute to the stability of health-associated Lactobacilli in the human vaginal microbiota. At Northeastern, his research program combines approaches from his previous research training in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, biochemistry and microbiology to engineer microbes for biofuel & biochemical production, and as diagnostics and therapeutics in the human gut microbiota.

For more information (CV.pdf 221KB)

Matt Fernez

Matt Fernez, PhD Student

Previous education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst 2019

 

Project Description: Co-advised with Professor Rebecca Carrier developing a project centered around the interface between microbial metabolism and intestinal barrier function. How can these dynamics be modeled in vitro? Further, how can we engineer our model, or solutions to the problems we uncover? Perspective: bringing metabolic & chemical engineering tools to tissue engineered constructs to address relevant health questions in the gut microbiome.

Background & Interests: I was born and raised in Plymouth, Massachusetts and recently moved to Boston. I’m a poet and an all-seasons sports fan. My hobbies include fishing, kayaking, hiking and recreational sports. I’m interested in undergraduate outreach for getting involved in research at Northeastern and developing my skills as an educator.

Katie

Katie Hoyt, PhD Student

Prior Education: B.S. Chemical Engineering, Montana State University, 2007; M.S. Chemical Engineering, Montana State University, 2011

 

Project: Katie’s research focuses on engineering Eubacterium limosum as a biocatalyst using methanol as a substrate. She is looking at the benefits of co-metabolism with glucose, and how we may be able to use co-metabolism to improve growth rate and substrate uptake rate. This research will help design future biocatalysts to facilitate production of sustainable biofuels and biochemicals.

Interests & Background: Prior to starting at Northeastern in 2019, Katie worked as an environmental consultant, providing air quality and process safety management compliance services to industrial clients. Katie grew up in Bellingham, Washington and loves gardening, movies, and spending time outdoors.

Patrick Sanford, PhD Student

Previous Education: BS in Bioengineering from Northeastern University in 2019.

 

Project: I am developing genetic engineering tools for the acetogenic bacterium Eubcaterium limosum. These tools will have applications in natural product biosynthesis using biosynthetic gene clusters identified from anaerobic sources; with a special interest on potentially clinically relevant metabolites of the gut microbiome. 

Background/Interests: I have a varied background in several biotech related disciplines gained during my undergraduate studies in bioengineering at Northeastern and various co-op and work experiences. I have worked in analytical chemistry at Acorda Therapeutics, and bioprocess development and metabolic engineering at C16 Biosciences. My primary research interest is in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. I am from New Hampshire and enjoy skiing, assorted outdoor activities, chess, real time strategy games, and cooking. 

George Zhou, PhD Student

Prior Education: B.S. Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 2018

 

Project Description: Acetogens are able to fix carbon-rich gases like CO2 and convert them into products like acetate. Syntrophic co-culture with aerobe could enlarge the growing conditions of acetogens and expand the range of available products. I am engineering the bacteria to improve the co-culture viability.

 

Background: Born in Nanjing, China. Interests include movies, cooking, and photography

Justin Hayes, PhD Student

Education:

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island, 2020

B.A. Spanish, University of Rhode Island, 2020

 

Project: Justin is engineering E. coli to produce biomolecules relevant to the functions of the gut microbiome. There is limited understanding of bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host interactions in the human gut microbiome. Our engineered microbe will allow us to introduce biomolecules into gut-on-a-chip models to study their effects and investigate potential disease pathways.

Interests: Prior to joining Northeastern in 2020, Justin spent one year in Spain studying the language, interning, and traveling Europe. He enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, surfing, skiing, and reading.

 

William Gasparrini, PhD Student

Education:

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, 2022 

Project: Still determining this.  

Interests: William started his academic career studying microbial engineering, shifted to air pollution modelling the last few years of undergrad at UConn, but has always been interested in bio-tech applications of chemical engineering. Outside of the lab, he enjoys running, hiking, a variety of other outdoor activities and spending time cooking with friends and family.  

 

Patrick

Patrick Sliter, Undergraduate Researcher

Education: BS Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University (Expected 2023)

Current Project:
Patrick is designing a flow-through photometer. This project aims to provide researchers with a scalable, low-cost tool for investigating the growth of anaerobic and aerobic microbes in continuous culture with automatic data collection. The flow-through photometer will be designed to be open-source and modularized so researchers may adapt and scale the system with their needs. It will be composed of a variable number of photometer modules and a central control module containing a microcontroller responsible for collecting and streaming data to a computer where it could be saved to the cloud and viewed remotely.

Background:
Born and raised in Warwick, New York. Research interests include sustainable energy solutions through the production of biofuels. Personal interests include hiking, gardening, and reading.

Katherine Miller, Undergraduate Researcher

Education: B.S in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, Spring 2023 from Northeastern University

Project: Katherine is studying the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) produced by Eubacterium limosum with the goals of determining what makes up this EPS, finding what genes are involved in its production, and developing a method to reduce the production of this EPS without negatively impacting the growth and viability of E. limosum. This would supplement our understanding of this organism as well as making it easier to work with.

Background and Interests: From Port Washington, New York. Hobbies include cooking, hiking and reading

Anna Lunger, Undergraduate Researcher

Education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, Northeastern University (expected spring 2025)

 

Project: Anna is a member of the Woolston Lab’s project dedicated to engineering microbes for researching the role of hydrogen sulfide in gut health. The goal is to engineer autonomous sulfide-producing microbes that use internal biomolecules to make sulfide instead of needing external supplementation. This would potentially allow for the study of gut health at various sulfide concentrations.

 

Background and Interests: Anna is from Wilmington, Delaware, where she attended a performing arts high school. She aspires to pursue a career in biotechnology. Her interests include singing, playing the piano, reading, and enjoying caffeinated beverages with friends.

Dhruv Jatkar, Undergraduate Researcher

Education: B.S Computer Science and Biology, Northeastern University (Expected 2025)

 

Project : Dhruv is studying approaches to mathematical modeling, and applying them to model a co-culture between E. coli and C. ljungdahlii. He is using constraint-based methods to predict interactions within the consortium on a metabolic level, and is exploring the significance of implementing regulatory frameworks. This could lend insight into extending the functionality of genome-scale metabolic models.

 

Background : From San Jose, California. Enjoys reading, cooking and visiting new coffee shops.

Shanthi Hegde, Undergraduate Researcher

Education: B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, Northeastern University (expected spring 2025)

 

Project: The presence of Hydrogen Sulfide in high concentrations in the Gut Microbiome causes disruption of the mucus membrane contributing to IBD and colon cancer. Utilizing the Sulfide Quinone Oxidoreductase (SQR) homolog in anaerobic Wollinella succinogenes, my project aims to sense Hydrogen Sulfide concentrations in the gut to maintain sulfide homeostasis.

Alumni

Anthony

Anthony Stohr, MS/BS Student

Current education: BS Chemical Engineering, Spring 2021 at Northeastern University

 

Current project: Homoacetogens are an anaerobic group of microbes that are capable of fixing gaseous carbon species and converting them into value-added chemicals and biofuels. I am investigating strategies to improve the oxygen tolerance and productivity of these industrially relevant microbes, with a particular focus on Clostridium ljungdahlii.

 

Background: From Newport, Rhode Island. Personal interests include running, hiking, and surfing.

James

James Sinoimeri, M.S./B.S. Student

Education:
B.S. Chemical Engineering (Expected, May 2021), Northeastern University
M.S. Chemical Engineering (Expected, May 2021), Northeastern University

Project:
My project aims to characterize and optimize biochemical production of acetogenic bacteria (acetogens) in bioreactors from a 1-carbon feedstock consisting of formic acid (formate). Formate is cheap, abundant, effective, often available as an industrial byproduct, and noncompetitive with food sources, making it a highly promising alternative to first generation feedstocks.

Interests:
My research interests lie in the combination of systems metabolic engineering and synthetic biology for sustainability and health applications in industrial biotechnology. In my free time, I like to read, cook, go on bike rides, and go to the beach. I also love to travel.

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