ORCID: 0000-0002-7529-2824
PI: Jon Pokorski (lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: bioprinting, microbial biosynthesis

Erica is a Nanoengineering PhD student at UC San Diego where she works on engineered living materials for synthetic soil in Jon Pokorski's lab. Erica completed her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware. Her previous research experience focused on thermoresponsive polymers. She was a UC San Diego's MRSEC REU in 2021, where she worked on utilizing additive manufacturing for synthesizing cyanobacterial gels.

ORCID: 
PI: Shengqiang Cai (lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: 

ORCID: 0009-0005-4722-3900
PI: Nicole Steinmetz (lab)
Key Areas of Expertise: plant virus-based vaccines, immunotherapy

Xinyi is a PhD student in the Department of Nanoengineering. She joined the labin April 2022. She received her B.S. in Polymer Science from Beijing Universityof Chemical Technology. Her past research focused on cancer and she has a particular interest in immunology. Currently she’s working on plant virus-based vaccines and immunotherapy. In her free time, she loves rock music, J-pop,cooking for friends and hiking.

ORCID: 0009-0008-9142-4808
PI: Ivonne Gonzalez Gamboa
Key Areas of Expertise: Plant Virus, Nano Particles, soils, game based learning, education reseach

Sean McDowell is a master's student in UCSD’s Nanoengineering program and joined the Steinmetz Lab in Fall 2024. Sean works with Prof. González-Gamboa to design and research education and outreach activities. Sean also works on environmental and agricultural applications of plant virus derived nanoparticles. Prior to UCSD, Sean completed his undergraduate studies at UC Davis, earning degrees in Physics and Design.