Nathan Suek, 2017, Chemistry

Nathan Suek ’17

The goal of my summer at the Institue for Systems Biology was to develop computational designs of a bacteria that could convert methane to methanol, a biofuel. Such a bacteria would provide a simple to use and sustainable biological source capable of producing liquid fuel, vital for transportation. My work involved manipulating a model of the bacterium and examining how its metabolism could be altered to produce the biofuel. By the end of the summer, I had several potential designs that could feasibly produce methanol. The internship was a wonderful introduction to the area of computational biology. Through it, I am more certain that I want to become a scientist. This fall for my senior thesis, I will continue to work on metabolism. In the future, I hope to earn a M.D./Ph.D. and pursue biomedical research.