One Cohesive Team, Several Scientific Disciplines

Our team of passionate scientists and engineers integrate diverse scientific disciplines and perspectives to address global issues using molecular solutions.

Led by

Ahmed H. Badran, Ph.D.

Ahmed Badran

Awards and Honors

2024         Baxter Young Investigator Award

2024         Chemical & Engineering News Talented 12 Award

2024         Army Research Office Young Investigator Award

2024         Homeworld Collective Garden Grant Award

2023         Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research New Innovator Award

2023         Breakthrough Energy Explorer Fellow

2023         J-WAFS Water and Food Grand Challenge Award

2023         Air Force Young Investigator Award

2023         RCSA Scialog Negative Emission Science Collaborative Award

2023         Scripps Collaborative Innovation Award

2022         Negative Emissions Science RCSA Scialog Fellow

2021         Dream Chemistry Award Finalist

2017         National Institutes of Health Early Investigator Award

2017         Reaxys Ph.D. Prize Finalist

2014         Harvard University GSAS Merit Fellowship

2014         Christensen Prize for Outstanding Research Achievement

2013         Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching

2010         National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow

2009         Michael A. Wells Research Scholar

2009         Galileo Circle Scholar

2008         Van de Verde Research Scholar

2008         Arnold & Mabel Beckman Scholar

2007         Undergraduate Biology Research Program Fellow

2007         Bio5 Innovator Award

2006         University of Arizona President’s Award for Excellence     

Ahmed H. Badran is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at the Scripps Research Institute. Badran earned his B.Sc. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics from the University of Arizona. As an NSF Graduate Research Fellow at Harvard University, Badran developed high-throughput strategies to evolve proteins with improved or altered activities. After receiving his Ph.D. in 2016, he was selected as part of the first class of Fellows of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, where his group developed technologies to alter protein translation and expand the genetic code of cells. He moved to the Scripps Research Institute in 2021, where his on-going research leverages the programmability of biological systems to develop next-generation strategies for addressing global problems in biotechnology, medicine, and sustainability. Badran’s current research interests include engineering of carbon-sequestering enzymes; development of pathogen-specific antimicrobials to curb widespread resistance; creating new-to-nature catalysts that bridge synthetic chemistry and molecular biology; and pioneering novel bioactive modalities to therapeutically intervene in diverse disease states.

Meet the Team

Rustam Bagirzadeh

Research Assistant

M.Sc. University of Texas-Southwestern, B.Sc. University of Texas-Austin

Colton Bennett

Laboratory Administrative Coordinator

Cindy Chen

Reba & Nat Newman Skaggs Graduate Education Fellow

B.Sc. National Taiwan University

Alan Costello

Postdoctoral Associate

Ph.D. Dublin University

Katherine Graham-O’Regan

Thomas Daniels Graduate Fellow

B.Sc. Smith College

David Lanster

Skaggs-Oxford Graduate Fellow

M.Sc. University of Miami, B.Sc. University of Miami

Zhiyi Li

Graduate Student

B.Sc. Tsinghua University

Alex Peterson

Hope Funds Postdoctoral Fellow

Ph.D. Harvard University, B.Sc. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Aaron Lab Photo . .
Aaron Vilchez

Rotation Student

B.Sc. University of California, Berkeley

Dsc
Yeoungeon Kim

Trainee

B.Sc. Kyungpook National University

Dsc
Gia Balius

Research Assistant

B.Sc. University of California, Santa Cruz

Seunghyeon Lee

Trainee

B.Sc. Sungkyunkwan University

Lab Alumni and Current Positions

Adrian Adib
Adrian Adib

2022 – 2023

Undergraduate Student, University of California San Diego

Fan Liu
Fan Liu

2017 – 2019

Principal, Boston Consulting Group

Natalie Kolber
Natalie Kolber

2017 – 2020

Graduate Student, Stanford University

Erika Debenedictis
Erika DeBenedictis

2018 – 2019

Principal Investigator, Francis Crick Institute

Rajiv Movva
Rajiv Movva

2018 – 2019

Graduate Student, Cornell University

Ranan Fattal
Ranan Fattal

2018 – 2021

MS/MBA Candidate at Harvard Business School

Gavriela Carver
Gavriela Carver

2019 – 2021

Graduate Student, Princeton University

Stefan Wan
Stefan Wan

(2019 – 2021)

Graduate Student, California Institute of Technology

Sinisa Bratulic
Sinisa Bratulic

2017 – 2019

Data Scientist, Elypta

Tony Cheng

High School Intern

Canyon Crest Academy

Minghao Liu

Undergraduate Intern

B.Sc. Nankai University

Let’s Work Together to Secure an Equitable Future

Our lab thrives on insightful discourse, daring exploration, and a solutions-first ethos. We're always searching for talented researchers to join our growing team. If you're inspired by our research areas and have experience spanning biology, chemistry, and/or computational domains, check out the opportunities below.