Karmella Haynes facts for kids

Karmella Ann Haynes is a super smart scientist and biomedical engineer. She is a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. She studies how tiny parts of our cells, called chromatin, help control how our bodies grow and develop. She's like an engineer for biology, trying to build new ways to help people using science!

Early Life and Education

Haynes grew up in St. Louis. She earned her first degree in biology from Florida A&M University in 1999. She even got a full scholarship to go there! During her summers, she did research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She worked with another famous scientist, Mary-Lou Pardue.

Later, Karmella Haynes went to Washington University in St. Louis for her Ph.D. She studied how chromatin works in tiny fruit flies. She finished her Ph.D. in 2006.

Learning and Teaching

As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow, she taught at Davidson College. She helped make the college's bioinformatics course better. Bioinformatics is about using computers to understand biology. She also won an award for her article about using bacteria to solve a math problem! This is where she first learned about synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is about designing new biological parts and systems. She even joined Davidson's team for the IGEM competition in 2006.

After that, Haynes continued her research at Harvard Medical School. She used her knowledge of chromatin and synthetic biology to create special proteins. These proteins could turn genes on or off in cells.

Academic Career and Research

In 2011, after her training, Haynes started her own lab at Arizona State University (ASU). Her lab worked on creating new ways to control DNA. They made special proteins that could target specific genes. She hopes this technology can help create new medicines. It could also help with growing new tissues for people. While at ASU, she also helped guide the university's iGEM team.

In 2018, Haynes moved to Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Here, she started the AfroBiotech conference. She also helped organize a summer course on synthetic biology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. She has also been part of the committee that makes sure iGEM teams do their research responsibly.

Public Engagement

Haynes has appeared on PBS, where she talked about biotechnology and diseases. She is not just a scientist; she is also a talented artist! In 2011, she painted her own poster for a science conference. Her artwork is still displayed at Harvard University. She is also part of a project called "Building with Biology" that helps people learn about science. She has been featured on Science Friday two times.

Awards and Honors

• 2017 Outstanding Assistant Professor, School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering
• 2013 Scientists to Watch, The Scientist Magazine
• 2012 Fellow, Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program (SynBio LEAP)
• 2012 Gold Medal and Human Practices Award, International Genetically Engineered Machines Competition (iGEM)
• 2010 Gold Medal, International Genetically Engineered Machines Competition (iGEM)
• 2010 Sustainability Grant, Harvard University
• 2009 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health

Notable Research

Karmella Haynes has published many important scientific papers. Her work has helped us understand how DNA is organized in cells. She has also shown how we can use synthetic biology to control genes. Her research helps us think about new ways to treat diseases.