University of California - San Francisco

Amanda Loshbaugh grew up in Alaska, where she learned to appreciate the beauty of nature. In college she developed a love for protein engineering, and after graduating she worked in an academic research lab developing photo-activatable protein tools for use in the field of optogenetics. As a PhD student at the University of California - San Francisco, Amanda develops biophysical modeling software for designing protein structure and dynamics. She is a specialist in the field of synthetic biology and engineers proteins with the end goal of creating biotechnologies to improve human life and earth's environment. Outside work, she is active in the bike punk and underground metal communities.