Riley Benedict

Riley Benedict is currently a Strain Engineering and Fermentation Intern at Lygos and a Chemistry Tutor with Brudda, providing online tutoring to middle and high school students in various subjects. As a Research Assistant at the Joint BioEnergy Institute since January 2023, Riley conducts research on metabolic engineering of bacteria for renewable biofuels. Riley has been involved with the American Chemical Society's Corporate Outreach Committee at UC Berkeley, facilitating connections between students and companies through events and career fairs. Previous experience includes an internship at Prana Thoracic, focusing on early-stage lung cancer detection devices, and a Research Assistant role at AltaSea, where Riley worked on sustainable kelp-based biofuels under Dr. Sergey Nuzhdin. Riley is pursuing a degree in Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, expected to graduate in May 2025.