Carrie Eckert, a new synthetic biologist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, said in a recent social media post that she feels welcome in her new workplace.
Eckert expressed those feelings in a Tuesday, Nov. 2 Twitter post.
"Fun little article welcoming me to the @ORNL research team," she said in the post.
The linked to a feature about Eckert released by ORNL in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, describing her work at the laboratory, using microscopic life to create fuels and other materials. She recently joined an ORNL team that focuses on genetically designing plants and microorganisms for many applications, and leads the laboratory’s Synthetic Biology Group that tries to create sturdier plants and modified bacteria that convert plant material into biofuel.
She also leads the Center for Bioenergy Innovation's Rapid Genomics team and contributes many other efforts, including assisting industry to modify organisms to produce products. She finds the variety energizing, according to the feature.
"If you look at the number of organisms I've worked with, it's very many," Eckert said. "I actually enjoy that because it keeps the research interesting."
Eckert's path to synthetic biology and ORNL extends back to Dolly, the cloned sheep born in 1996, which sparked her fascination with genetics and she ultimately earned her doctorate in molecular biology.
Her previous work life included time at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, a joint appointment with the University of Colorado Boulder where she took up a leadership role at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute. Eckert also mentored research students at the university and advocated for women in its science and engineering mentorship program.
"It can be difficult to be a woman in fields of science and engineering, so I think it is really important for women to have support," Eckert said. "Knowing how to balance work life is important."
She moved to Tennessee this past summer and joined the staff at ORNL in July. Part of her new job is to develop biological solutions for complex problems such as the world's plastics crisis.
"Synthetic biology is dipping its toes in many areas, from bioenergy to drug discovery," Eckert said. "As we develop genetic tools, we learn how to do things that are transferrable across many different problems and applications."
