2025 Internship Project Overview

Princeton researchers recently identified the microbe Acidimicrobium sp. strain A6 that uses reductive dehalogenase proteins (RDases) to break down per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as “forever chemicals,” for cell respiration. However, A6 is very challenging to grow in the lab, preventing scientists from completely sequencing the gene that codes for its RDases. Using a different gene that is highly similar to the incomplete gene of A6, we bioengineered a different organism, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, to produce RDase proteins. Our goal was to understand how RDase production affects MR-1 growth and see if MR-1 can use RDases to degrade PFAS. In the lab, I designed DNA primers and utilized different microbiological techniques to build plasmids (circular molecules of DNA) with RDase genes. I then introduced these plasmids into samples of MR-1 for use in growth and defluorination assays, and plotted the results of these assays in R.

 

ORGANIZATION/RESEARCH GROUP

Atkinson Lab, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University

LOCATION

Princeton, New Jersey

 

Interns

Brian Eng ’28
Major: Computer Science
Minor(s): Quantitative and Computational Biology
"This internship allowed me to gain experience doing research in a wet lab, and to learn about the immense potential of microbial redox systems to solve environmental problems. The experience encouraged me to pursue biological topics in my future independent work, and the skills in microbiology and bioengineering that I’ve learned will definitely help prepare me for work in this amazing field."

 

Joshua Atkinson
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute

Mentors

  • Kayla Aksan, Ph.D. Candidate, Civil and Environmental Engineering