Kayla Aksan

Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Faculty Adviser: Joshua Atkinson
Year of Study: G1
Undergraduate School: Rutgers University
Undergraduate Major: Microbiology

Personal Bio

I grew up in New Jersey and have lived here for most of my life. I went to Rutgers for my undergraduate degree in microbiology - I LOVE bacteria (and the environment)! At Rutgers, I did research on anaerobic benzene degradation via ferric iron reduction in sediment cultures from the Passaic River. I spent two years living in Chicago working as a synthetic biology research associate after undergrad for a company called LanzaTech, that did research on bacteria that fermented carbon waste gas into ethanol. For fun, I love hiking and playing video games; I also have two cats!

My approach to mentoring is one of compassion, open communication, and honesty. I really value people who are confident enough to admit when they don't know something, because I was once a very scared student, afraid to be honest about things I didn't know.

Fun Fact

A fun fact about me is that I have a large collection of loose leaf teas!

Research Pitch

Although I am technically an environmental engineer, I am a molecular biologist by trade. Historically I have utilized many synthetic biology and genetic engineering techniques to implement new biochemical pathways in bacteria for bioremediation purposes. My current project in grad school is in the same vein. I will be exploring microbial communities in soil sediments and attempting to engineer reductive dehalogenase enzyme genes into these communities in order to instigate the biodegradation of PFAS in situ. Some tactics I will employ include designing a modular cloning system, consortia conjugation methods, utilizing ribozymes to barcode plasmids, and examining different isozymes of the reductive dehalogenases.

Upcoming Programs That I Am Attending:

Plans for Summer 2025

Not available to participate in Summer ReMatch+ program.