Cameron Roots

I am an American, cross-trained synthetic biologist with a skill set that spans molecular biology, computational biology, and some laboratory automation. My doctoral research focuses on the intersection of synthetic and evolutionary biology, with an emphasis on understanding cryptic gene expression. In the past, I've worked on other projects such as phage engineering, Drosophila mitochondrial genetics, and yeast metabolic engineering. I'm particularly interested in synthetic biology foundational advances, closed-loop experimentation, systems modeling, and sustainable biomanufacturing (especially as an alternative to petroleum based processes).

Outside of research, I'm engaged in community leadership. I've spent a significant amount of time in our graduate student associations, helping to build a cohesive community. Through this, I've also worked directly with my PhD program to improve the student experiences, coursework structure, and attract talent. From a broader view, I think its important to be a policy-aware scientist that understands not just the rules and regulations that define how your innovations are developed/deployed, but also the process behind them. I've been engaged in federal policy entrepreneurship, having worked on a variety of concerns in synthetic biology including AI, gene synthesis, and others. This awareness helps both drive the field forward while helping me conduct more valuable research.

Ultimately, I'm passionate about synthetic biology as a field. I think that it has the potential to bring substantial innovations in the products that we can develop. I'm also confident that synthetic biology is an effective route to make existing technologies more sustainable.

This site serves as a place to share my work and thoughts. The views expressed are my own.