People

Sarah is pioneering genetic engineering in non-model extremophiles of the phylum Neocallimastigomycota, organisms with remarkable biotechnological and environmental potential. She is developing methods to introduce foreign DNA into these fungi by combining chemical and enzymatic treatments with optimized transformation strategies that balance cell viability and DNA uptake. Concurrently, Sarah is bioinformatically and experimentally building libraries of native promoters, testing them heterologously in high throughput to generate quantitative measures of their strength and efficacy. She is also designing and testing some of the first functional genome-editing tools for these organisms. Collectively, her work enables genetic access to previously intractable fungi, unlocking new enzymes and bioprocesses for sustainable biotechnology.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Sarah enjoys playing and learning new instruments, practicing yoga, and exploring new active outdoor hobbies.

Education

2009 – 2012. USDA-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT/Broad Institute

2009. Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware

2004. B.S., Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

2004. B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

2025

Michelle O'Malley Appointed Interim Chair of Bioengineering

Society for Industrial Microbiology SBFC Keynote Award

2024

Appointed to U.S. Defense Science Study Group (DSSG)
AlChE Division 15c Plenary Award

2023

Biotechnology Progress Award for Excellence in Biological Engineering Publication

Cliff R. Scholle Endowed Chair, UC-Santa Barbara

“Tartans on the Rise” Carnegie Mellon University Alumni Award

2021

AIChE Allan P. Colburn Award for Excellence in Publications by a Young Member of the
Institute

2020

Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Division Early Career Award

American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow

American Society of Microbiology Award for Early Career Applied and Biotech Research

Faculty open up about mental health under the COVID-19 pandemic

2019
Science News 10: Scientists to Watch

Lars G. Ljungdahl Lectureship, University of Georgia

2018

ACS Biochemical Technology (BIOT) Young Investigator Award

Genewiz Award Recognizing Excellence in Genomics Research
National Academy of Engineering, US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium Invited
Attendee

Participate-in-NAEs-2018-US-Frontiers-of-Engineering-Symposium

2017

ACS Women's Chemist Committee (WCC) Rising Star Award

Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award

ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Young
Investigator

Yes, you can have a life outside the lab

2016

Colburn Lecturer, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of
Delaware
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)

NSF CAREER Award

Getting the most out of your postdoc

Visiting Professor, Harper Adams University, UK
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Inventor Fellow (Finalist)

2015
MIT Technology Review, 35 Innovators Under 35

National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award

Cottage Health – UCSB Special Research Award

2014

Hellman Faculty Fellowship
TechConnect Innovation Award

2013
Department of Energy Early Career Award 

2011

U.S. Department of Agriculture-NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship
Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Fellowship

2010
Company of Biologists International Travel Fellowship

2007

University of Delaware Department of Chemical Engineering Teaching Fellowship
Merck Award for Best Overall Poster, Biochemical Engineering XV
American Chemical Society Leadership Development Award

2006
NASA-Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship

2004
NSF-IGERT Predoctoral Fellowship in Biotechnology

2000
Presidential Scholarship, Carnegie Mellon University

Vikram is engineering synthetic enzyme protein complexes inspired by fungal cellulosomes that can dynamically reconfigure in response to external stimuli such as light and pH. By integrating stimulus-responsive interaction domains into synthetic dockerin-cohesin complexes, he is creating self-remodeling scaffolds that enable programmable, reversible spatiotemporal control over protein assembly. These dynamic complexes aim to support adaptive enzyme organization, advancing the design of responsive systems in synthetic biology.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Vikram enjoys pumping iron at the gym and running on campus.

Artury is developing genetic tools and exploring understudied biology in non-model organisms. His work spans optimizing bacterial–fungal coculture conditions for transformation and identifying and characterizing extracellular particles and their cargo across the anaerobic gut fungal spectrum. He aims to advance the engineering of these typically recalcitrant systems for applications in lignocellulose valorization, natural product discovery, and new biological frontiers.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Artury enjoys weightlifting and hardstyle music.

As a Project Scientist, Elaine brings a broad range of expertise to the O’Malley Lab, with a background spanning biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, and plant physiology. She earned her Ph.D. in Biophysics from UCSF (2014), completed a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular biology at UCSF (2019), and worked as a Senior Scientist in molecular plant biology at Apeel Sciences before joining UCSB in 2023.

At UCSB, Elaine helped lead instrument selection, system design, and coordination for two automated BioFoundries: a mammalian platform (installed in 2024) and the anaerobic microbial platform ExFAB (launched in 2025). In the O’Malley Lab, she contributes broadly through mentorship and training of graduate students, development of new experimental strategies and research directions, grant writing, manuscript preparation, and maintaining harmony within the lab. Elaine also plays a key role in designing and implementing projects that leverage high-throughput workflows and the state-of-the-art equipment in ExFAB.

When not at work, Elaine enjoys swimming, running along the Santa Barbara coast, catching up on sleep, and spending time with her husband, 2 kids, and 2 fur babies.

Marcus studies Mesodinium, a genus of ciliates that acquire and maintain algal organelles through kleptoplasty. Across species, these organisms display a continuum of complexity in how they organize and rely on these stolen plastids for essential metabolite production. By dissecting the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying this gradient, Marcus seeks to uncover the principles that enable cellular integration of foreign organelles. His work aims to advance our understanding of facilitated endosymbiosis and inform strategies for engineered metabolism in biotechnologically relevant systems.

Outside of lab, you can find Marcus climbing, playing board games, or taking care of his plants.

Rafael is leveraging the NSF ExFAB Biofoundry to develop high-throughput pipelines for discovering natural products in anaerobic gut fungi (AGF). While many pharmaceuticals, such as penicillin and lovastatin, have been derived from fungi, vast reservoirs of natural products in non-model fungi remain unexplored due to their extreme culture requirements and environment-specific gene expression. By recreating native AGF conditions and applying environmental challenges, Rafael aims to elicit natural product production, with pipelines adaptable to other unique and extreme microorganisms.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Rafael enjoys riding his bike and walking around downtown Santa Barbara.

Ramya works with diatoms, a remarkable group of algae capable of building silicon-based cell walls. Their research focuses on uncovering the molecular machinery behind the formation of these intricate structures, using a combination of omics approaches and genetic engineering tools.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Ramya can be found at the gym or in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes.

Katelyn is focused on metabolic engineering of non-model bacteria to enhance the degradation of recalcitrant materials. This work involves modifying native global regulators to be activated by light, enabling dynamic control between anaerobic fermentation and aerobic respiration. By creating this hybrid metabolic state, the organism can produce fermentative by-products on demand even under aerobic conditions.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Katelyn enjoys mountain biking.

Vikram M studies anaerobic bacterial communities for their ability to convert plant biomass (lignocellulose) into valuable chemicals and materials. Although lignocellulose offers great promise as a renewable alternative to petroleum, its lignin component is notoriously resistant to anaerobic biodegradation, posing a major barrier to its utilization. Remarkably, Vikram’s microbial communities have demonstrated the ability to break down unpretreated lignin, though the underlying metabolic mechanisms remain unclear. His work focuses on identifying the microbial species, genes, and biochemical pathways responsible for this process. Gaining these insights will enable targeted microbial engineering and accelerate progress toward sustainable lignocellulose bioprocessing.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Vikram enjoys biking around Santa Barbara and hiking in California’s Sierra Nevada.

Janelle is developing an anaerobic cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) platform for the high-throughput screening of oxygen-sensitive proteins. This approach enables the production and characterization of novel enzymes from anaerobic gut fungi outside of the cellular environment. Combined with ExFAB, UCSB’s NSF Biofoundry, her work can be automated and applied to a variety of non-model microbes that require oxygen-free conditions to maintain enzymatic function. This platform expands the lab’s capabilities for high-throughput screening of genes with previously uncharacterized functions.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Janelle enjoys picnicking at the beach—and skillfully warding off the seagulls.

Shirley investigates how microbes and enzymes break down tough plant materials, ranging from fungal enzymes that digest hemicellulose to termite gut microbiomes that efficiently process lignocellulose. She employs protein engineering, microbial cultivation, and omics approaches to identify microbes for lignocellulose valorization and to uncover how microbial communities adapt to complex substrates. Her work provides key insights for designing robust biocatalysts and microbial systems for industrial biomass conversion applications.

Outside the lab:
When not in the lab, Shirley enjoys running on the beach.

Hugh is developing genetic tools to study and engineer anaerobic gut fungi, unlocking their unique biological potential. These Neocallimastigomycete fungi are obligate anaerobes with powerful biodegradation abilities, naturally found in the digestive tracts of herbivores. Despite their promise for biotechnology, their genetic intractability has limited insights into the molecular mechanisms driving their biocatalytic functions. By establishing methods for genomic transformation and gene expression, Hugh’s work aims to enable deeper exploration and manipulation of these fungi for applications in agriculture, bioremediation, and medicine.

When not in the lab, Hugh enjoys cooking, gardening, and playing with his cats.

Bo studies the carbon metabolism of anaerobic gut fungi, with a focus on identifying and characterizing key enzymes involved in converting low-value plant biomass into value-added fermentation products such as hydrogen, formate, acetate, and succinate. Using a combination of genomic analysis, biochemical characterization, and metabolic phenotyping, Bo investigates the metabolic pathways within the fungi’s mitochondria-derived organelles (hydrogenosomes). These enzymes are essential for improving genome-scale metabolic models and represent promising targets for genetic engineering to enhance fermentation yields.

In addition to his work on anaerobic gut fungi, Bo has experience studying anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, and methanogenic archaea.

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As lab manager, Jackie oversees and organizes the daily operations of the lab, from maintaining equipment and managingsupplies to ensuring safety and compliance. She also oversees the ExFAB facility, supporting all graduate students, visiting researchers, and ongoing projects, and helping to guide research spaces and teams so they can focus on their scientific work.bHer role blends organization, problem-solving, and mentorship, ensuring the lab runs efficiently and effectively.

When not running around the building, you can find Jackie exploring nature or enjoying a good book.

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