Asst. Prof. @ King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) | Adj. Prof. ASU AzCATI | Bioengineering | Sustainable & Synthetic Biotechnology | Algae
For the first time in my career, over 400 citations in a year. Algal biotech is a niche field and citations are low, so this feels like a win to wind down 2022! Thank you to all co-authors and collaborators, we're stronger together!
So excited for
@KaustRPP
@MEWA_KSA
launch of the algae testing facility
@KaustResearch
@KAUST_News
. This space will allow the benchmarking of strains outdoors to scale to meet the circular bio economy needs of food security and waste reuse. Congrats Claudio and team!
@ChenxinLi2
Sometimes you have to show what writing should be. Not everyone starts with an ability to write logically and well. Myself included. When my MSc came back to me, entire pages were red lined and my supervisor would cut with scissors the parts to move around.
So proud of these young scientists. The Sustainable & Synthetic Biotechnology lab at KAUST has had a great year. Looking forward to the next with this awesome team.
Hey! You wanna see 300 g of Chlamydomonas 🦠 biomass? Freeze 🥶 dried and ready for testing. In partnership with A4F Portugal, we’re learning whether we can scale engineered Chlamy. More to come soon;)
@KaustResearch
LGEM tubular photo bioreactor in action.
@ASU_AzCATI
#algae
#biotechnology
the wave action let’s you cultivate cell wall deficient strains in these tubular systems.
Happy to say I have accepted an invitation to join the Editorial Board at the journal Planta.
Feel free to suggest me to handle all papers relating to primary endosymbiotic algal 🦠 biotechnology 🧬 and metabolism submissions.
We just upped our game thanks to support from
@KaustResearch
We now have 20 independent
@algenuity
photo bioreactors for benchmarking strain performance. So excited to get going supporting algal biotechnology in the region. 🦠 thanks LEM team for your help!
New Paper Alert! 🚨
@KaustResearch
&
@ASU_AzCATI
use green algal 🦠carotenoid 🧬 to turn an extremophile 🌋 red alga 🔴red!
We bring ketocarotenoid biosynthesis into Cyanidioschyzon merolae by expression of Chlamydomonas genes 🧬.
#PlsRtwt
Isn’t this majestic? Hard work from
@Barbara_C_F
@KaustResearch
over 70 local KSA microalgae strains and growing. This kind of collection is a basic pillar to support sustainable goals in the
#KSA
.
Thanks to the flexibility of the organizers, I was able to give my talk for
#Chlamy2023
remotely. Highly appreciated!
@SLemaire75
thanks for chairing the session. Thank you
@JonikasLab
and volunteers for the meeting organization!
So very happy to have these beautiful pieces arrive today from
@joana_gcc
! What great illustrations of Cyanidioschyzon merolae and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii! Thanks for carrying them over
@Barbara_C_F
🦠😎
Just found out
@BioRadLifeSci
has discontinued production of their pulsed field gel electrophoresis machine. As the only one on the market (that I know) this seems like a huge hit for the SynBio-artificial chromosome community.
@ATinyGreenCell
your chance to shine.
Our first test using the
@CellDEG
high density microalgae cultivator. Chlamydomonas, Galdieria and Cyanidioschyzon, fingers crossed!
#SSBlab
@KaustResearch
In a niche field like ours 🦠 🧬, citations are not high. But it’s still a cool feeling when you beat your previous year’s citations a couple months before the end of the year 📖🎓😎
In a little while I’ll be picking up our new 6-month visiting student
@tk_ozawa
! Time to tour
@KaustResearch
and see the
#SSBlab
. Super excited for some Botryococcus work to start here 🦠🧪🔬
Second batch of BioE300 students in the SSB lab today. With their TAs
@razanzyahya
@GordonWellman
and
@tk_ozawa
was there too;) 🦠🧪 today it was plasmid preps 🧬, tomorrow, the world? 🌍
Ever seen
#chlamydomonas
#biochar
? Thanks to
@KCCkaust
we can start to see what kinds of uses we have for leftover engineered algal biomass after product extraction
How many replicates does it take to make a solid experiment with strong stats? Ask
@razanzyahya
! Chlamydomonas headspace analysis benchmarking her new isoprene pathway transformants (and controls)
These glass chambers allow us to control culture temperature with a water jacket connected to a chiller. We’ll grow Cyandioschyzon merolae at 40 degrees.
Oh snap, out
@algenuity
Algems just got a massive upgrade! We will now have 18 parallel reactors to model algal growth performance. Can’t wait to see these all working together. Thanks for the support
@KaustResearch
!
#algae
#biotechnology
The SSB lab has a new PhD candidate! Today
@razanzyahya
did a stellar job presenting her PhD proposal (like a viva) to her committee
@Rosado_AS
&
@SaikalyPascal
on track to complete her PhD next year. Thanks again to the committee for the time (especially Pascal (3/4 this week))
How do you cultivate your algae? Here Chlamydomonas is grown at 300 rpm shaking in the
@CellDEG
45 system. We moved this unit to the floor because shaking was too aggressive for a table. By
@Malakabd93
&
@GordonWellman
Did you know that Incushaker Minis can also have grey lids? After some help from the manufacturer
@BenchmarkSci
replaced and now we have better light spectrum reaching our algae.
@ATinyGreenCell
in case you want to grow Nanno or other algae again 🦠❤️🔥
@KaustResearch
Article out about our work
@KaustResearch
today in Leaders-MENA “the official magazine of the Saudi Airlines”. I’m grateful for the press coverage, I did not know this was being written 😎:
When
@SzekelyGroup
asks to get some stock video of you in your lab
@Barbara_C_F
and I are happy to comply. But I borrowed
@s_overmans
’ lab coat. Shh 🤫 don’t tell him 😏
Our
@algenuity
bioreactor upgrade.
@KaustResearch
now holds the title of having the most Algenuity photo bioreactors of any lab in the world 🌍 can’t wait to see what we can do with them 💪🦠🧪
Hard work by Diedrich (non-tweeter) & the DAB-KSA
@KAUSTinnovation
(BeaconDev)
@MEWA_KSA
team. He grew Cyanidioschyzon merolae to 1000 L, harvested and made freeze-dried biomass with
@Barbara_C_F
! Final yields to come soon, but great to have the biomass!!
This is what 1.75 kg of Chlamydomonas looks like. Just received from A4F in Portugal, ready to be turned into
#biochar
and other neat things with
@cgrande55
’s lab.
@KCCkaust
and circular carbon initiative.