Tufan was born and raised in Turkey. He completed his PhD in Biotechnology at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. He pursued various research opportunities in plant biotech and worked at the Palacký University Olomouc, the University of Florida and the Earlham Institute as a postdoctoral scientist. He developed genetic transformation and gene editing methods for model plants and non-model crops including sugarcane, barley and chickpea, and used synthetic biology and advanced mol bio techniques to generate and verify engineered plants. 

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Carl was born and raised in the small town of Casterton, Australia, and completed a bachelor's degree in biotechnology at Flinders University. He earned his PhD from The Australian National University in 2024 under the supervision of Prof Simon Williams, where he characterized effector proteins from pathogenic fungi. Carl’s research identified a conserved family of fungal enzymes that manipulate phosphate signaling in plants to promote disease. In the Demirer Lab, Carl will investigate plant interactions with beneficial soil microbes. When he’s not in the lab, Carl enjoys running, exploring hiking trails, and watching basketball.

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Javi was raised in Northern California, and received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University in 2022-2023. While at Stanford, Javi first studied Sustainable Food and Agriculture in the Earth Systems program. Her collaboration with Berkeley’s Bowles Laboratory led to a publication on deep nutrients and soil fungal communities, inspiring her research under Professors Dinneny and Dundas as a master’s student, which centered on tunable synthetic biological systems for rhizospheric carbon insulation. Through her work in the Demirer Lab, Javi will co-develop improved in planta protein delivery strategies for genetic engineering. Beyond the lab, Javi is an avid roller skater and classical pianist.