Russell Komor

Russell Komor has a diverse work experience in the field of biotechnology and research. Russell is currently serving as the Director at Cellibre since July 2019. Before that, they worked as a Senior Research Scientist at Genomatica from October 2018 to July 2019. Prior to this, Russell had a long tenure at Synthetic Genomics where they held various roles. Russell started as a Scientist in January 2012 and later became a Scientist II in July 2014. At Synthetic Genomics, they were responsible for advising and designing protein engineering workflows, leading a team for the engineering of a novel CRISPR-Cas family, and identifying advantaged systems through bioinformatics and microbial discovery.

Before joining Synthetic Genomics, Russell worked as a Graduate Student at the California Institute of Technology from July 2006 to December 2011. Russell conducted research in the Frances Arnold research group, focusing on increasing cellulase thermostability and structural analysis of a thermostable P450. During their time as a Graduate Student, they applied recombination and predictive methods to improve the thermostability and activity of a fungal cellulase.

In their earlier career, Russell gained research experience as an Undergraduate Researcher at the Laboratory of Dr. Douglas Clark at UC Berkeley from January 2005 to May 2006, and at the Laboratory of Dr. Gabor A. Somorjai at UC Berkeley from May 2004 to December 2004. Additionally, they also worked as an Intern at Merck & Co. Inc during the summer of 2005, where they performed fluid dynamics assessments of equipment for biological manufacturing.

Overall, Russell Komor has a strong background in protein engineering, CRISPR-Cas systems, and increasing enzyme stability. Their work experience spans across various research institutions, highlighting their expertise in biotechnology.

Russell Komor completed their education in Chemical Engineering. Russell began their undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley in 2002 and earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Chemical Engineering in 2006. After completing their undergraduate studies, they pursued further education at Caltech. From 2006 to 2008, they obtained a Master of Science (MS) degree in Chemical Engineering. Russell then continued their studies at Caltech and obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Chemical Engineering from 2006 to 2011.