
Genetically reprogramming synthetic yeast strains to produce advanced biofuels has won Princeton graduate student José de Jesus Montaño López (of the lab of ODBI's José Avalos) a top prize at Prototypes for Humanity, a research convention held last month in Dubai.
Montaño López presented work from a collaborative team of Princeton and NYU Langone researchers. Using synthetic yeasts, they sped a directed evolutionary process from years to days and created a system that can produce advanced biofuels with great efficiency.
The event, part of the global climate conference COP28, featured 100 inventions that address environmental and social challenges. Five projects won awards in separate categories, including the Princeton team’s category: Energy, Efficiency and Waste.
Photo courtesy of Montaño López.