Jenn Brophy

Assistant Professor of Bioengineering

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator

Jenn was born and raised in Southern California. She received her B.S. in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley in 2009 and PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT in 2016. During her PhD, Jenn worked with Chris Voigt and Alan Grossman to develop tools for engineering non-model bacteria. As a postdoc, she worked with José Dinneny at Stanford to engineer spatial patterns of gene expression across plant tissues using synthetic genetic circuits. She started her lab in September of 2021, where she is interested in applying synthetic biology to address climate change issues and enhance sustainability. Her favorite flowers are Lilies!

Stanford Profile

Isabel Goldaracena Aguirre

PhD student, Bioengineering

EDGE Fellow

Chemistry-Biology Interface (CBI) training program

isagolda [at] stanford [dot] edu

Isabel grew up in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She graduated from Tecnologico de Monterrey (ITESM) in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in biotechnology. She then moved to the U.S. to work as a Research Associate in different research institutions and biotech companies. Outside the lab, Isabel likes hiking with her dog, playing soccer, and organizing science outreach events, especially for the Latinx community.

Bella Archibald

PhD student, Bioengineering

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

BioX Bowes Fellow

bellaa [at] stanford [dot] edu

Bella earned her BS in biomedical engineering with a minor in chemistry as a Barry Goldwater Scholar at the University of Utah. She is now a graduate student in Bioengineering at Stanford, interested in engineering synthetic systems for bioremediation and biomanufacturing. When she's not in the lab, she enjoys exploring new trails, and her favorite plant is the Arrowleaf balsamroot!

Vin Armelin

PhD student, Bioengineering

RAISE Fellow

armelin [at] stanford [dot] edu

Alex Cessna

Co-term Masters student, Biology

acessna [at] stanford [dot] edu

Alex is a co-term student studying biology at Stanford. He is interested in engineering plants and microbes to help create a more sustainable and secure food system. In his free time, he loves reading, hiking, and going to the beach. 

Alice Gevorgyan

PhD student, Biology

agev [at] stanford [dot] edu

Alice graduated from Cornell with a BS in Plant Sciences, concentrating in molecular, cellular, and developmental plant biology. She is passionate about equipping plants to face a changing climate and better understanding the natural world around us. In her spare time Alice enjoys Armenian folk dancing and reading about current affairs. Her favorite plant is lantana camara.

Anna Johnson

PhD student, Bioengineering

co-advised by Kabir Peay

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

anilives [at] stanford [dot] edu

Anna earned her BS in chemical-biological engineering with a minor in business analytics from MIT. She is now a NSF Graduate Research Fellow in Bioengineering at Stanford, co-advised by Jenn Brophy and Kabir Peay. Anna is interested in engineering partnerships between plants and fungi for sustainable development, conservation, and food security. Outside of lab, she enjoys pottery and picnicking. Her favorite plant is the Acacia dealbata.

Sarah Weber

PhD student, Biology

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

webers [at] stanford [dot] edu

Sarah grew up in Albany, California and earned her BA in Biochemistry with a minor in Environmental Studies from Grinnell College in Iowa. After graduating, she worked in Brian Staskawicz’s lab at UC Berkeley, developing tools to improve targeted insertion in rice. Sarah believes that studying plants and learning how to more effectively engineer them is key to mitigating climate change, and she is particularly interested in translational plant research. Outside the lab, Sarah enjoys baking, hiking, and climbing. One of her favorite flowers is the Matilija poppy—also known as the fried egg flower! 

Vivian Zhong

PhD student, Bioengineering

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

vivzhong [at] stanford [dot] edu

Vivian earned her BS in biological engineering from MIT and is currently a PhD candidate in bioengineering at Stanford. She is interested in designing plant biosensors and shaping plant-microbe interactions. Outside of the lab, she's into science policy, communication, and her favorite plant is the lotus!

Alexander Borowsky

Postdoc, Bioengineering

abor [at] stanford [dot] edu

Alex grew up in Davis, California, then got his BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Vanderbilt University. He went on to earn his PhD in Plant Biology at UC Riverside, where he worked in Julia Bailey-Serres’ lab to understand how gene regulatory networks control the responses of rice root cell types to abiotic stresses. In the Brophy lab, he is interested in developing high-throughput strategies to understand and engineer plant gene regulation. Outside of the lab, he enjoys swimming, cooking, and pottery, and his favorite plant is Magnolia.

Callie Rodgers Chappell

Postdoc, Biology

Advised by Kabir Peay 

NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology

calliech [at] stanford [dot] edu

Callie is from Traverse City, Michigan. They received their BS in Biology and MS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Michigan. After completing a PhD in Biology from Stanford with Tadashi Fukami, Callie was a Bio Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow with Drew Endy at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. Callie is passionate about community science and art. Their favorite plant is milkweed, a host plant for monarch caterpillars.

Soyeon Choi

Postdoc, Bioengineering

sychoi [at] stanford [dot] edu

Soyeon earned bachelors degrees in biological science and in food and nutrition from Sungshin University in Seoul, Korea. She received her PhD in genetics  from the University of Georgia, where she studied traits conferring latitudinal adaption in switchgrass. Soyeon is generally interested in improving the resilience of agronomically important crops. She wants to avoid adverse outcomes from climate change by developing and utilizing synthetic circuits that spatially and temporally tune the expression of developmental genes.

René Inckemann

Postdoc, Bioengineering

rincke [at] stanford [dot] edu

René earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Duesseldorf and his Master's from the University of Marburg. He completed his PhD at the Max Planck Institute in Marburg, focusing on developing synthetic biology tools for chloroplast engineering. Now as a postdoc in the Brophy lab, René is interested in exploring logic circuits to enhance plant resilience against climate change. Beyond research, he enjoys playing  guitar, long-distance running and keeping a variety of houseplants. His favorite plant is the sequoia tree.

Arielle Johnson

Postdoc, Bioengineering

arj66 [at] stanford [dot] edu

Arielle has a BA in Biology from Brown University in Providence, RI.  She received a PhD in Plant Biology from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY studying genomics, reproductive development, and specialized defensive cells in the emerging model plant petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus).  Arielle is interested in the spatial and developmental aspects of how plants make specialized metabolites and coordinate defense.  She hopes to use synbio techniques to manipulate defensive cells in Arabidopsis.  Her favorite plants include bladderworts, Hydnora, and honey locust trees.

Kate Kozaeva

Visiting scientist, Bioengineering

Novo Norodisk Foundation-BioX Fellow

ekozaeva [at] stanford [dot] edu

Kate received her BS and MS degrees in Biochemistry from Moscow State University in collaboration with the biotech company Ajinomoto Co., Japan. She earned her Ph.D. from the Technical University of Denmark, at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, where her research focused on metabolic engineering of soil bacteria for bioproduction of chemicals. As a Postdoc at Brophy Lab, she is engineering synthetic microbial communities to enhance plant resilience to abiotic stresses. Kate is passionate about biobusiness, enjoys nature, playing the ukulele, and her favorite plants include succulents & wheat!

Janina Tamborski

Research scientist

jtambor [at] stanford [dot] edu

Janina earned BS and Master degrees in plant biology from the Technical University of Aachen in Germany. She received her PhD from the Sainsbury Laboratory through the University of East Anglia, where she studied the role of stomata in plant immunity. Prior to joining the Brophy lab, Janina worked in the Krasileva lab at UC Berkeley to engineer disease resistance in wheat. Janina is now developing synthetic genetic circuits to enhance water use efficiency in the bioenergy grasses Setaria viridis and Sorghum bicolor. She is an avid climber and has an adorable rescue dog!

Katelyn Chu

Undergraduate, Bioengineering

kchu16 [at] stanford [dot] edu

Katelyn is an undergraduate student studying bioengineering at Stanford. She enjoys listening to music, painting, reading, and exploring forests. Her favorite flowers are tulips, though lupines are a close second!

Alison Fajardo

Undergraduate, Chemical Engineering & Biology

afajardo [at] stanford [dot] edu

Alison is an undergraduate student studying chemical engineering and biology at Stanford originally from NJ. She is interested in synthetic biology and bioengineering to create regenerative food systems. Outside of the lab, she loves traveling, collecting soil (so far from the Grand Canyon & Popocatépetl), going to concerts, and facetiming her dogs (Oliver and Kila)!

Nathan Godsey

Undergraduate, Bioengineering

ngodsey [at] stanford [dot] edu

Nathan grew up in Honolulu, Hawai'i, and is an undergraduate studying Bioengineering. He is interested in studying bacteria and plant partnerships. Outside the lab, Nathan enjoys surfing, hiking, and music. His favorite flower is 'Ohi'a Lehua.