Elise Span

Elise Span has worked in a variety of roles in the biotechnology sector since 2009. From 2009-2012, they worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at Marquette University, where they engineered a high-throughput screen and probed the mechanism of mandelate racemase via X-ray structural studies. From 2012-2015, they worked as a Research Technician at Concordia University-Wisconsin. From 2015-2018, they worked as a Graduate Research Assistant and Doctoral Candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2018-2022, they worked as a Technical Team Lead and Scientist at Zymergen, where they led a small team of scientists and research associates to discover novel plastic-degrading microbes and enzymes, and secured internal funding for program continuity. In 2022, they began working as an Independent Consultant in the biotechnology sector, assisting startups in bringing technology to market.

Elise Span began their academic career at Marquette University, where they earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Philosophy in 2012. Elise then moved on to Scripps Research, where they studied Biophysics from 2013 to 2015. Finally, they earned their Doctor of Philosophy in Biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018.