Liat Adler

Bio: Liat completed her PhD in the McCormick group at the University of Edinburgh where she discovered the wonders of algal photosynthesis. She completed a postdoc in the Mackinder group at the University of York studying how algae efficiently take up CO2 from their environment. As a Stanford Energy Postdoctoral Fellow, she is excited to be investigating how algae use light in different environments to boost their production of biofuels. She will be hosted in the lab of Adrien Burlacot, a leading expert in algal bioenergetics and photosynthesis. She will benefit from co-mentorship by Arthur Grossman, who has expertise in algal photosynthesis and genetics, and Matthias Garten, who will provide guidance in advanced microscopy techniques. Outside the lab she enjoys rock-climbing, cold-water swimming and nature-based art.

Postdoctoral research project: Exploiting Algal Photosynthesis for Enhanced Biofuel Production.  Algae are promising sustainable producers of biofuels but are currently not economically viable. My research focuses on how to boost their productivity by tweaking the way they perform photosynthesis. Algae use light for growth, but too much light can be harmful. To deal with different light environments, algae have different ways to use light energy, some more efficient than others. Using higher efficiency pathways means more biofuel production but less protection from excess light. Recent studies have shown that forcing algae to use their most efficient energy pathway can double the oil production. However, this change can also make algae more sensitive to light. I will carefully adjust these energy pathways using synthetic biology to maximize oil production in a safe and efficient way.

Research focus:  Renewable Energy - Algal Biofuels

Advisors:  Matthias Garten - Bioengineering | Arthur Grossman - Carnegie Institution for Science 

Education

Ph.D., Molecular Plant Sciences, University of Edinburgh (2023)M.S., Biochemistry, University of Cambridge (2018)B.A., Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge (2017)