Members
Gözde S. Demirer
Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering (2022) - CV
2026 Journal of Nanobiotechnology Rising Star
2025 ASPB Jane Silverthorne Early Career Award
2024 Rising Stars in Plant Sciences Award
2024 ACS Zero Hunger Award
2023 AIChE’s 35 under 35 Award
Gözde was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey and received her B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Koc University in 2015. Gözde completed her Chemical Engineering Ph.D. at UC Berkeley with Prof. Markita Landry in 2020. During her Ph.D. studies, she developed nanotechnologies for plant genetic engineering. For her postdoctoral work, Gözde joined Prof. Siobhan Brady's lab at UC Davis, where she studied nutrient use efficiency of tomato and developed high-throughput functional genomics tools to study transcriptional regulation in crops.
Contact Gözde if you want to join the Demirer Lab!
Research Staff
Research Scientist
Ashot Papikian
Ashot completed his PhD at UCLA in Dr. Steve Jacobsen’s lab, where he studied gene
regulation and developed novel CRISPR-based tools for specifically modulating gene
expression by targeting and altering epigenetic marks to elucidate mechanisms
regulating gene activation and gene silencing. After his PhD, he began work at Inari Agriculture, where he was a project leader, leading a team focused on new tools for precise genome modifications. Following Inari, Ashot worked as a Computational Scientist in the Michael Lab at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and led genome engineering projects across plant biology labs and the Harnessing Plants Initiative program. As a Research Scientist in the Nolan and Demirer Labs, Ashot is developing strategies and novel approaches for single-cell screening and precision editing of plant genomes.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Carl McCombe
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.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Edith Sánchez Hernández
Originally from Tlaxcala, Mexico’s smallest state, Edith received her B.S. in Clinical Biochemistry from Universidad de las Américas Puebla. She later moved to Saudi Arabia to attend King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, where she earned an M.S. in Plant Science and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering under the guidance of Prof. Magdy Mahfouz. During her graduate studies, Edith developed CRISPR-based tools for plant biotechnology, focusing on prime editing, targeted DNA integration, and molecular diagnostics. In the Demirer Lab, she explores new genome-engineering strategies for the precise and heritable insertion of large DNA sequences in rice. In her free time, Edith enjoys running and wandering through nature.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dylan Brown
Dylan is from Albuquerque, New Mexico and completed his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of New Mexico. He earned his PhD in chemical engineering from Northwestern University working under Julius Lucks. At Northwestern, he created new cell-free biosensors for human and environmental health monitoring. In the Demirer lab, Dylan will develop protein delivery technology to expand targets for plant genetic engineering. Outside of the lab he enjoys making art, cooking, concerts, and outdoor activities.
Visiting Professor
Hikmet Geckil
Hikmet earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Türkiye and his Ph.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology through a highly competitive Ministry of National Education Fellowship, ranking second nationwide. His training includes postdoctoral research at Ben-Gurion University and a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship at Harvard-MIT. He later founded and chaired the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at İnönü University, where he is a Professor. A pioneer in Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) research, Hikmet studies microbial genetic engineering for therapeutic and biotechnological applications. He is currently a TÜBİTAK-supported Visiting Professor in the Demirer Lab at Caltech, developing bacterial systems for DNA-free CRISPR-Cas RNP delivery to plants.
Research Scientist
You
Check out openings and apply!
Graduate Students
Chemical Engineering 2021
Mark G. Legendre NSF Fellow
Mark was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and earned his B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame in 2021. During his time at UND, Mark developed supramolecular surface treatments for biomedical materials. He is currently pursuing his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering at Caltech as a member of the Demirer Lab where he is primarily focused on in planta protein delivery strategies for plant genetic engineering and developmental regulation. In his free time, Mark enjoys working out, playing and listening to music, and fly fishing.
Bioengineering 2021
Yunqing Wang FFAR Fellow
Yunqing was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, and earned her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2021. During her undergrad, Yunqing participated in iGEM and developed a DNA detection toolbox based on CRISPR-Cas12a. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering at Caltech as a member of the Demirer lab. She is passionate about applying synthetic biology techniques to plant engineering. Outside the lab, Yunqing enjoys hiking and photography, and is getting in the habit of working out and rock climbing.
Chemical Engineering 2022
Eugene Li NSF Fellow
Eugene was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During his undergrad, Eugene worked with Prof. Mukherjee to develop biomolecular MRI reporters. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering at Caltech as a member of the Demirer Lab. His research focuses on developing engineered living materials to achieve controlled release of agrochemicals in the rhizosphere. In his free time, Eugene enjoys playing sports and watching movies.
Biology 2022
Chiara Berruto NSF Fellow
Chiara was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She received her B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics in 2021 from the University of California, Los Angeles. During her time at UCLA, she worked under Dr. Jeffrey F. Miller studying the role of diversity-generating retroelements in the accelerated evolution of gut microbiota. She is now pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Biology as a member of the Demirer Lab. Her research focuses on plant-microbiome interactions and the ways in which the plant microbiome can be manipulated for sustainable agriculture. In her free time, Chiara enjoys going to the beach and spending time with loved ones.
Biology 2022
Kimberley Tanatswa Muchenje
Margaret McNamara Fellow
Kimberley was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and earned her B.S in Biology from Davidson College while investigating determinants of gene regulation at the transcriptional level in C.elegans. She has honed skills in genomic techniques and bioinformatic data analysis. She is now pursuing a PhD in Biology as a member of the Demirer Lab. Her research involves reconstituting biosynthetic pathways for efficient production of rare bioactive molecules with medicinal value in model plants using a synthetic biology approach. Kimberley enjoys mountain hikes, crocheting, running, reading novels, writing poetry and candid photography.
Chemical Biology 2024
Clair Colee
Clair grew up in Seattle, Washington and earned her B.S. in Biochemistry at Scripps College in Claremont, California in 2023. During her undergrad years, Clair worked in Dr. Aaron Leconte’s lab, where she used deep mutational scanning and high throughput biochemical assays to evaluate and optimize the light emission spectra of firefly luciferase. Now, she is pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemistry on the Chemical Biology & Molecular Biosciences track at Caltech. In the Demirer lab, her research focuses on engineering virus-like particles for improved cargo loading and delivery in plants. Outside of lab, Clair enjoys making music, hanging out with her cat, exploring new parts of the city, and strolling around the neighborhood.
Chemical Biology 2024
Andrés Heredia
Andrés was born and raised in San Diego, California. In 2024, he received his B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA, he worked in Dr. Jose Rodriguez’s group investigating the impacts of Lysosomal Storage Disease-implicated lipids on alpha-synuclein pathology. He is now pursuing his PhD in chemical biology as a member of the Demirer lab. His research focuses on engineering genetically encoded systems for biomolecule delivery to plants. Outside the lab, Andrés enjoys playing piano, swimming, and exploring LA's food scene. You can also find him on the pool deck as a volunteer coach for the Caltech Men’s Water Polo team.
Chemical Biology 2025
Teresa Rojas Rodriguez
Teresa was born in Mexico City and raised in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. She earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biotechnology from Northwestern University in 2025. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Chemistry on the Chemical Biology track at Caltech as a member of the Demirer Lab. Her research focuses on engineering plant-associated microbes to protect plants against pathogens and promote sustainable agriculture. Outside the lab, Teresa enjoys figure skating, flamenco dancing, traveling, and learning languages.
Undergraduate Students
Biochemistry with ESE minor
Gigi Pistilli
Bioengineering
Aurelia Kuester
Bioengineering with Neurobiology minor