Diego is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering and Data Science at the University of Washington. He is specializing in synthetic biology and CRISPR technologies for bioproduction and biocomputation in cell-free and bacterial systems.

Diego received his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in 2019. He was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 2021 to research the intersection of CRISPR, optogenetics, and cell-free systems in the Carothers Research Group at UW. Outside of WRF and research, Diego serves in the Education & Outreach Committee of Soundbio Lab, a DIY bio-makerspace providing science resources and education to the greater Seattle area.

Melanie Busch is a fourth-year Pharm.D./MBA student at UW. Her coursework at the UW School of Pharmacy and Bothell School of Business explores the interface of life science, healthcare, and business. Prior to beginning her PharmD and MBA degrees, Melanie gained experience in the Seattle biotechnology community working in antibody development, CAR T-cell therapy manufacturing, and clinical trial management. She graduated from the University of Rochester in 2016 with a BS in biochemistry and honors in biomedical research.

Melanie was a competitive figure skater for 10 years, holds two gold national titles, and still practices today as a recreational member of the UW Figure Skating team.

Jay Lubow is a 3rd year postdoc in the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who isolates and characterizes broadly neutralizing antibodies to dengue and Zika viruses.

Jay received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Maneeshika is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, being advised by Dr. Amy Orsborn and Dr. Sam Burden. Her research is at the intersection of neuroscience and electrical engineering, using control systems, game theory and brain-machine interfaces to explore the learning dynamics between humans and machines.

Maneeshika completed her BS in electrical engineering in 2013 and MS in electrical engineering in 2015, both from Stanford University. Maneeshika was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant in 2013 to research solar energy systems in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her engineering experience includes working as a computer engineering at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico and as an embedded systems engineer at Cala Health, a neurotechnology start-up in Burlingame, CA.

Vanessa is a bioengineering PhD candidate at the University of Washington advised by Dr. Douglas Fowler. Her PhD research investigates how protein chaperones recognize and refold oncogenic proteins. In addition to her PhD research, Vanessa has extensive experience in protein engineering and machine learning.

Vanessa received her B.S. in bioengineering from the University of Washington in 2018 and conducted her undergraduate research in the lab of Dr. David Baker. Prior to entering her PhD program, Vanessa spent time at Just-Evotec Biologics, a Seattle-based start-up, and Amazon developing machine learning models for protein folding and other basic science problems. Vanessa is also currently enrolled in the Michael G. Foster School of Business pursuing a Technology Entrepreneurship Certificate.