Peter Otoupal

Peter Otoupal has a long and varied work experience. Peter began their career in 2008 as an Intern at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where they investigated the E2F1 protein's role in tumorigenesis and DNA damage response. In 2011, they worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, researching metabolic engineering to increase alcohol tolerance and lipid production in yeast. That same year, they also worked as a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where they formulated a lipid extraction and pretreatment process for algal biomass, acheiving 99% efficiency. Additionally, they were a Team Member for the International Genetically Engineered Machine, collaborating in an undergraduate-led genetic engineering science competition to refactor a novel caffeine degreadation operon into E. coli. Peter then worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Research and Development Scientist at Sandia National Laboratories from 2018-2020. Since 2020, they have been a Research and Development Scientist at Agile BioFoundry, and in 2022 they will begin working as a Biological Scientist at Spotlight Therapeutics.

Peter Otoupal obtained a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin between 2009 and 2013. Peter then went on to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science, which they completed in 2018.