Sarah Seagrave

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.