Shawn Szyjka

Shawn Szyjka has worked in the research and development field since 1995. Shawn began their career as an Undergraduate Student at SUNY at Buffalo. In 2002, they became a Graduate Student at USC Molecular and Computational Biology, where they engineered over 530 mutant yeast strains, mastered technically difficult 2D gel electrophoresis and a novel DNA microarray technology, taught lab lectures, and presented data several times at international research conferences. Shawn was awarded the Harrison M. Kurtz Award for Most Outstanding Ph.D. In 2008, they became a Postdoctoral Fellow at Escape Therapeutics. From 2009 to 2015, they worked at Sapphire Energy as a Staff Scientist and Group Leader. During their time there, they directed and advised undergraduates performing independent research. From 2015 to 2022, they worked at Zymergen, Inc. as an R&D Director, Associate Director, and Scientist III. Currently, they are the Head of R&D at C16 Biosciences.

Shawn Szyjka obtained a Dual BA in Biological Sciences and Chemistry from the University at Buffalo between 1995 and 2000. Shawn then went on to pursue a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California, which they completed in 2008.