We would like to extend a warm welcome to Dr. Jaya Joshi for joining BPI!
Jaya Joshi is a synthetic biologist interested in the directed evolution of enzymes to transform inefficient designer biocatalysts into highly active enzymes. Jaya recently finished postdoctoral fellowships with Dr. Andrew Hanson at the University of Florida and Dr. Vincent Martin at the Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics in Montreal, both exploring the enormous power of synthetic biology and biofoundries. Jaya’s expertise is in metabolic engineering of microbes with tailor-made catalysts and her program aims to develop novel methods for converting biomass-derived feedstocks into value-added products ranging from fuels to pharmaceuticals—in short, turning trash into treasure. Her research walks through enzyme design space: exploring fitness landscapes for radical metabolic engineering design, guided by her aim of making sustainable Carbon farming a reality by 2050.
To get better acquainted with Dr. Joshi, we asked her some personal trivia questions:
- I grew up in... Almora; a small Himalayan town in northern India
- When I was a kid...I wanted to have Doctor in front of my name
- At school...I was good at Math, Sports and Debate competitions and collecting trophies.
- I enjoy...playing tennis and painting
- The best meal...pizza with hot banana pepper and pineapple toppings
- My favorite beverage...fresh juice
- Friends know me... as a bookworm
- I’m reading... The Lab Girl (a gift, I received after learning that I'll have my lab soon)
- Important words… “You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.” Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture.
- I’m at my best… remembering things (Faces, page numbers as well as chemicals in the lab)
- I’m at my worst… trying to remember names. I do my best but :(
- The best gift I ever received is... my son
- The most useless talent I have… good handwriting
- My favourite music… Beetles and Adele
- My hero... my dad, who fought against every odd to get her girl educated
- On my days off… would go out hiking to explore the natural plethora of Vancouver
- If I wasn’t working at UBC- I would still be running my research program in States
- In this position, I’m excited… that I am going to be part of a team that is looking for a solution(s) for the climate crisis
- I’ll know we are successful... when as a scientist we could change the thinking of a common person
- Someday… my research will contribute to solutions for the climate crisis that we have passed on to the next generation as an unwanted gift, and my son will say thank you for that solution.
Welcome to BPI, Dr. Joshi!
