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Headshot of Elaine Kirschke

Project Scientist

Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, 2015–2019
Ph.D. in Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, 2014
B.S., Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara (2007)

2223 Elings Hall

ekirschke@ucsb.edu

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.