Dyche Mullins studied electrical engineering and mathematics before becoming fascinated with cell biology during his doctoral work at the University of Kentucky. After postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins University and The Salk Institute for Biological studies, Mullins joined the faculty at UCSF. Since 2011, Mullins has also been an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Work in the Mullins Lab focuses on the assembly and regulation of cytoskeletal networks - collections of molecules that self-assemble into complex structures that enable cells to transport molecular cargoes, change their shape, and propel themselves from place to place. Understanding how cells construct these internal molecular 'skeletons' is key to understanding a wide variety of biological processes and human diseases.

Varenyam Achal is Professor in environmental engineering and Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Shantou, China. Prof. Achal was awarded a Ph.D. from Thapar University, India. He has a very broad interest in environmental biotechnology and biological-based building materials. He led several projects utilizing microbes in heavy metals immobilization and on the development of innovative bio-based construction materials such as self-healing concrete and bio-cement. By now Prof. Achal has published more than 100 journal research articles and review papers, along with two books titled Ecological Wisdom Inspired Restoration Engineering and Building Materials for Sustainable and Ecological Environment.

Researcher in the Wendell Lim Lab at UCSF, where she engineers immune cells to perform novel and useful functions, such as seeking out and destroying cancers. In addition to her research, she creates and coordinates science outreach programs for Bay Area museums and schools. She is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a past participant in the Biodesign Challenge. She was the first Artist-in-Residence at Epibone, a bone-reconstruction biotech startup company, and has worked with BioRealize, a biological product design company, to create algae-based carbon dioxide biosensors for use in textiles.