ibakanas

I aim to innovate sustainable chemistry processes by combining modern synthetic organic chemistry with computational protein design. A New Jersey native, I studied chemistry and biochemistry at Rowan University which built my passion for understanding fundamental reaction mechanisms. During my graduate studies at UC Berkeley, I studied natural product total synthesis, where I became acquainted with the ability of nature to build amazing molecular architectures. Through my studies I gained expertise in synthetic organic chemistry, but also witnessed the shortcomings and waste of traditional chemistry processes. From my time there, it became clear to me that the future of chemistry would involve using biological tools to enable green chemistry processes.

These experiences led me to join the lab of Bill DeGrado at UC San Francisco as a postdoctoral scholar to study the computational design of proteins. Bill is an expert in the field, having coined the term de novo protein design and contributed several landmark discoveries. Here, I am using tools including AI and machine learning to design proteins that catalyze new-to-nature reactions. The combination of these training experiences uniquely positions me to design biocatalysts that can catalyze the sustainable synthesis of drug molecules, act as next-generation energy devices, and remove waste from the environment.

October 2023