Lynch Lab


  • Main
  • News
  • Research
  • Team
  • Publications
  • Patents
  • Calculators
  • Educational Resources
  • Lab Openings
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Team Login

  • Contact

  • Location
  • Email
  Login
Team


Our lab is focused on rigorous and impactful science. Toward this end, we strive for a inclusive culture open to diverse ideas. Visit the Team Composition Page for a breakdown of our team over time and a summary of where lab alumni have landed. If you are considering joining the team, check out our Lab Openings




Current Team Members




Michael D. Lynch

Assistant Professor Biomedical Engineering

Google Scholar Profile

michael.lynch@duke.edu


Education:

M.D. University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 2007

Ph.D. University of Colorado @ Boulder, 2005

M.S. Washington University in St. Louis, 2000

B.S. Washington University in St. Louis, 2000

A.B. Washington University in St. Louis, 2000

Mike is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University with a secondary appointment in the Chemistry Department. His team's work is focused on standardizing the engineering of biology using the synthetic biology toolkit. Engineered proteins, enzymes and cells have utility in numerous applications from fuels and chemicals production to the manufacture of foods, agricultural products, proteins and enzymes and of course in the development of pharmaceuticals and other therapeutics. Prior to Duke, Mike was at OPX Bio, a company he cofounded out of work from his PhD. He remains in engaged in entrepreneurial activities with two recent new start-ups (DMC Biotechnologies, Inc. and Roke Biotechnologies, LLC.) as well as teaching key aspects of entrepreneurship including: design, product development, technoeconomic analyses, basic business models and intellectual property fundamentals.




Dr. Romel Menacho-Melgar

Post-Doctoral Associate

romel.menacho.melgar@duke.edu


Romel recently received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in the Lynch Lab and has received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Department to pursue the founding of a start-up: Roke Biotechnologies, LLC. Originally from Peru, he came to the US to the University of South Carolina to earn a BS degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2009. He started his graduate studies at Duke in 2013 and joined the Lynch Lab in 2015. His research involves developing platform for improved heterologous protein expression in E. coli.




Dr. Adim Moreb

Post-Doctoral Associate

eirik.moreb@duke.edu


Adim recently received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in the Lynch Lab focused on understanding context dependent factors influencing CRISPR/Cas9 activity. In his post-doctoral work, Adim is working to develop new DNA synthesis technology.




Jennifer Hennigan

Graduate Student: Chemistry

jennifer.hennigan@duke.edu


Jen earned her BS in chemistry from Stetson University in 2015. She is a chemistry PhD student with research interests at the interface of chemistry and biomedical engineering. Her current projects include enhancing the production of protein based pharmaceuticals in E. coli. In her spare time, Jen plays field hockey with the TarDevils adult team.




John Decker

Graduate Student: Biomedical Engineering

john.decker@duke.edu


John is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Originally from middle Tennessee, he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he earned a B.S. in Neuroscience and conducted research on eye movements and stereoscopic vision in humans. Outside of school and the lab, John enjoys the outdoors, literature, and fencing, and also holds a private pilot's license.




Dr. Shuai Li

Graduate Student: Chemistry

shuai.li@duke.edu


Shuai is a PhD student in Chemistry department. He earned a M.S. degree from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2018 and got his B.S. in chemistry from Shandong University in 2015. His current project is the development of engineered microbial strains for the biosynthesis of chemicals which possess potential applications in various fields. He enjoys playing basketball in his spare time.




Jeovanna Rios

Graduate Student: Chemistry

jeovanna.rios@duke.edu


Jeovanna is a PhD chemistry student. She graduated from Fort Lewis College in Colorado with a degree in Biochemistry, where she was also a member of their NCAA softball team. She is interested in understanding the biosynthesis of intriguing molecules that carry important applications. Outside of lab, she trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu and enjoys baking.




Tian "Mikey" Yang

Graduate Student: Biomedical Engineering

tian.yang@duke.edu


Tian Yang (aka. Mikey) is from Beijing, China. He earned his BS in chemistry and biology from Tsinghua University in 2018. He is now a BME PhD student and his research interest involves engineering novel enzymes and understanding protein sequence-activity relationship with directed evolution, high-throughput enzymatic analysis, statistic modeling, and lab automation. He enjoys playing soccer, live music, and watching Netflix in his spare time.




Utsuki Yano

Graduate Student: Chemistry

utsuki.yano@duke.edu


Utsuki is a PhD student in the Chemistry department. He is from Osaka, Japan. He got a BS degree from Osaka University in 2021. His current project is to develop biosynthetic methods to explore new chemical spaces. He enjoys working out and traveling in his spare time.




Nick Cheatwood

Graduate Student: Chemistry

nicholas.cheatwood@duke.edu


Nick is originally from a small town in East Texas. He graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2018. He is a chemistry PhD student with interest in the development of engineered microbial strains for the biosynthesis of useful and valuable compounds. In his spare time, he enjoys camping, hiking, reading, gardening, and making new hot sauce.




Enrico Calore

Graduate Student: Biomedical Engineering

enrico.calore@duke.edu


I come from a little town near Venice, in the north east of the country. I love doing physical activities. I played soccer for many years but I am always up to try new sports. I recently learnt the basics of rowing and I am currently into gymnastics. After my M.S. in aeronautical engineering, I worked in the automotive industry both in Italy and United Kingdom as aero-thermal engineer.My main responsibility was to assess the car’s aero-thermal performances through computational fluid dynamics and test facilities. I am particularly intrigued by the possibility of “rewire” a cell behaviour through the design and manipulation of biochemical pathways. I would like to extend the metabolic capability of cells, to develop applications in the medical and industrial fields.





Copyright © Michael D. Lynch 2021