Ahmed Badran, PhD, assistant chemistry professor at Scripps Research, has been named one of Chemical & Engineering News’ (C&EN) “Talented 12.” C&EN, which is published by the American Chemical Society, selects a pool of 12 early-career researchers in the chemical sciences who are fearlessly tackling difficult global problems. As one of this year’s 12, Badran was chosen because of his impressive body of work and leadership in biological engineering.  

At Scripps Research, Badran is focused on first understanding, and then re-engineering the most fundamental molecules and genetic circuits in living cells. His lab works at the intersection of many different disciplines, including chemical biology, bioengineering, directed evolution, genome editing and synthetic biology. Using these myriad approaches, Badran’s ultimate goal is to develop next-generation solutions to mounting global issues in climate change and healthcare. For instance, Badran is focused on everything from improving how plants capture carbon dioxide to engineering bacterial components to screen for better antibiotics.

In recognition of his efforts, Badran has received numerous awards and honors to support research in his lab, including most recently the Homeward Collective Garden Grant, the Young Investigator Research Program Award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Scialog Negative Emissions Science Initiative Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems (​J-WAFS) Water and Food Grand Challenge Award.

The other Talented 12 chemists will be featured in the May issue of C&EN. Badran will also be attending the Talented 12 Class of 2024 Symposium during the ACS Fall Meeting in Denver, taking place August 18-22 this year.

For more information on Badran’s work and being named one of the Talented 12, visit the C&EN site.