Lev Tsypin

Bio: Lev Tsypin is a freshly minted PhD from Dianne Newman's lab at Caltech. His specialty is domesticating new microorganisms and developing tools for genetically engineering them. He believes that finding the right organisms for the job is a critical task for successfully combating climate change. Lev loves microbes, macrobes, and the world they build together. He also enjoys going out into nature, baking bread, playing board games, and herding cats.

Postdoctoral research project: Developing the green microalga Botryococcus braunii for sustainable biofuel production.  As a Stanford Energy Postdoctoral Fellow, Lev will work with Botryococcus braunii, a species of freshwater microscopic algae. This organism is unique among plants in that it secretes copious amounts of oil that is chemically analogous to petroleum. In fact, there is some geological evidence that ancient B. braunii may have contributed to our present-day oil reserves! This organism may be the key to developing a cheap and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, but we do not yet have the tools to engineer or optimize B. braunii's oil production. Lev's work aims to bridge this gap.

Research focus:  Renewable Energy - Sustainable biofuels

Advisors:  Ellen Yeh - Pathology  |  Arthur Grossman - Carnegie Institution