Would like to appreciate the writing through the stories! I enjoy reading from chapter to chapter :)
In addition, I am wondering with your previous experience with tech and so forth, why did you finally choose to do bio? What brings you specifically working on something specific such as tRNA, genetic code expansion and Aars? Do you envision something related to your career aspirations to this day? (I read also about automation and reproducibility that you mentioned in your essays)
I studied computer science in undergrad. After taking the compilers and operating system courses, I was so enchanted by understood how a chunk of silicone on your desk becomes this animated thing you can program to do whatever you want. To satisfy my elective requirement, I happened to take a class taught by Francis Arnold that was cross-listed with computer science and bioengineering, and she had us read the original 'recoded E coli' paper (Genomically Recoded Organisms Expand Biological Functions, 2013). In it, the Church lab figured out that if you delete all 321 instances of the lowest-usage codon (TAG) from the E coli genome you can reassign that codon to a new amino acid. MIND BLOWN! Genetic code expansion is like operating systems hacking but for biology. Reading that paper made me really want to go in the direction of synthetic biology: it was clear that during my career that's where the interesting engineering is going to happen!
Hi Dr Erica,
Would like to appreciate the writing through the stories! I enjoy reading from chapter to chapter :)
In addition, I am wondering with your previous experience with tech and so forth, why did you finally choose to do bio? What brings you specifically working on something specific such as tRNA, genetic code expansion and Aars? Do you envision something related to your career aspirations to this day? (I read also about automation and reproducibility that you mentioned in your essays)
Thanks in advance!
Aditya
Thank you so much!
I studied computer science in undergrad. After taking the compilers and operating system courses, I was so enchanted by understood how a chunk of silicone on your desk becomes this animated thing you can program to do whatever you want. To satisfy my elective requirement, I happened to take a class taught by Francis Arnold that was cross-listed with computer science and bioengineering, and she had us read the original 'recoded E coli' paper (Genomically Recoded Organisms Expand Biological Functions, 2013). In it, the Church lab figured out that if you delete all 321 instances of the lowest-usage codon (TAG) from the E coli genome you can reassign that codon to a new amino acid. MIND BLOWN! Genetic code expansion is like operating systems hacking but for biology. Reading that paper made me really want to go in the direction of synthetic biology: it was clear that during my career that's where the interesting engineering is going to happen!