Life-changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast.
Ep #8: Kevin Fuentes
Introduction
Kevin Fuentes is a first generation Salvadoran-American now studying chemical engineering and biochemistry at Tufts University. He discovered BioBuilder when Dr. Kuldell gave a presentation to one of his science classes. He completed the Apprenticeship Challenge in the spring of 2019 and did his internship at BioBuilder during the summer, teaching in the Learning Lab @ LabCentral, furthering his Apprenticeship project, and testing the synthetic biology lab kits that BioBuilder provides to schools.
Quotes
-“My work with BioBuilder set me straight. SynBio became a possibility for me. They made it seem like it could happen. BioBuilder gave me the confidence to believe in myself that this was something I can do.”
-“BioBuilder really did change my life. I did a 180 turn from a lot of the preconceived notions about the professional future…and the rest is history.”
-“BioBuilder and the education they provide is an amazing opportunity to learn, expose yourself and immerse yourself into the world of what Synthetic Biology is.”
-”Nothing is as motivating as knowing you have the capacity to do something. And BioBuilder most definitely provided that opportunity.”
Keywords
BioBuilder Apprenticeship, Careers, Teaching, STEM, Mentorship, Tufts University, Synthetic Biology
Transcript
Zeeshan Siddiqui (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Life Changing Science: The BioBuilder podcast. I’m your host Zeeshan Siddiqui, and today I talk with Kevin Fuentes. Kevin is a first-generation Salvadoran-American now studying chemical engineering and biochemistry at Tufts University. He completed the [BioBuilder] Apprenticeship Challenge in the spring of 2019 and did his apprenticeship at BioBuilder during the summer testing out the synthetic biology lab kits that BioBuilder provides to schools. I am super excited to talk to him today so let’s dive right into this episode.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (00:32):
Could you tell us a bit about when and how you first discovered BioBuilder?
Kevin Fuentes (00:37):
Yeah, I mean, I still remember extremely vividly, and it was just something that my bio teacher, my AP Bio teacher, she was just in class and she was just like, “Oh, hey guys, somebody will be coming in. Who’s going to be, you know, presenting like a project or a new organization to you guys. We’re going to have an assembly. You’re just go and we’re going to hear her and talk to her.” And I remember at the time, I was just really excited because it got me out of class and “I was like, oh, well, I’m looking forward to that.” And when I went down, that’s when I first met Natalie Kuldell, and she was just explaining what BioBuilder is what they represent. That was the first time I ever heard like the word synthetic biology. And that was the first time that I guess was exposed because at the time, like I was doing like traditional, like AP bio coursework, or just the course work I had done because I also took bio freshmen, but like honors bio. And so, like, it was mostly just stuff that like, I was very familiar with. Like, there wasn’t much of an application or I wasn’t sure about applications of the studies I was doing, but synthetic biology kind of became the first like professional application for, for the biology that I thought I was learning. So it was just really fascinating.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (01:47):
Learning about synthetic biology for the first time to BioBuilder made you view biotech and synthetic biology, et cetera, through the lens of, I guess, the professional side of things and how you can actually implement your, what you’re learning in class into the real world and BioBuilder helped sort of facilitate that. So I want to move on to the BioBuilder Apprenticeship program. Tell us a bit more about it and what it is, what project you worked on, and I guess what skills you learned in terms of like what the curriculum was.
Kevin Fuentes (02:16):
So the BioBuildership Apprenticeship, or the BioBuilder Apprenticeship was kind of like a workshop, like kind of a training for a few weeks that what we did was they trained us in like basic lab etiquette and like a good lab practice in terms of just, you know, being in a lab, working at a bench. But they also provided some conceptual instruction in terms of synthetic biology and what it is. And so the skills that we learn, I guess, or whatever it was, you know, a lot about, a transformation, a transformation, that’s kind of one of the, like, I guess foundational basis of synthetic biology with plasmids. And so we became very familiar with transformation, how to perform a transformation on E. Coli culture and then how to make them provide some kind of gene expression from whatever we were transforming them with.
Kevin Fuentes (03:06):
Then the project that I worked on was kind of like a branch off from this, where it was, we were allowed to kind of come up with an idea and it was like more like an engineering project rather than like a, mainly primarily the science biology project. And we were to select a chassis, some sort of, you know, cellular organism to implement a plasmid or transform with a plasmid so that I could, you know, make some kind of product through yields. And mine was, my, I’ll really never forget mine. I was a synthetic alchemist. Well, it wasn’t even mine. It was ours because it might seem also had a huge role in that. And it was just supposedly we were going to get a freshwater bacteria and transform it with this plasmid from this other bacteria that exists in soil that takes, hazardous materials and converts them from hazardous materials or hazardous metals to gold.
Kevin Fuentes (03:58):
So we were going to make it so that like, we were going to put it in like a lake or some kind of like water source where humans get their water from. So let’s say like Flint, Michigan, and we would like, release into the wild and it would absorb the lead in the water and then said, you know, you can get gold or something like that. But I mean, it was really fun. That’s, that’s what I remembered most vividly, especially from, from the program. You know, we had a, we had a presentation towards the end with some of the faculty at LabCentral, which is a startup facility for a lot of biotech companies.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (04:30):
Was the first time you, you know, you mentioned a lot of molecular bio techniques, like transformation and stuff. Was BioBuilder the first time, was the Apprenticeship program the first time you did any of those experiments or learned any of those techniques?
Kevin Fuentes (04:43):
Yeah, most definitely. The funny thing is we touched a little bit on transformation in my actual AP bio class, but it was very brief and we actually came back to, I was exposed to it in my Apprenticeship. So it was definitely the first time that I had done anything quite like it.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (05:01):
I know with the Apprenticeship program, like towards the end, I think you have the opportunity to, I guess, undertake a six week paid summer internship program after. And did you do that program as well? And I think that was with BioBuilder there as well.
Kevin Fuentes (05:13):
Yeah. All of us were supposed to be going to go into internships, but it wasn’t something that was necessarily promised. It was something that you were, you know, preparing yourself for, for internships, for interviews, resumes. And, um, I remember I was frantic, because I did not land a single one and I was like, I was in the dumps, I was like, “You know what, that’s okay. You live, you move on.” But then Natalie, just, they didn’t let me go. And she was like, “I would like to offer you an internship with BioBuilder.” And so she kind of like, you know, pulled me out of the dumps. So I was like, “Oh, okay. This is great.” Like she gave me, gave me a chance so I was like, “All right, I’ll go do it.” So, yeah, I, I think the, is it around maybe a little bit longer than six weeks?
Zeeshan Siddiqui (05:50):
What were you working on during those few weeks? I think you mentioned that it was, you’re working on some synthetic biology kit, or something similar or just a bunch of different things?
Kevin Fuentes (06:00):
Well, actually what it was a bunch of different things. I was really like more like a lab assistant and like, like a teaching assistant really, because the main tasks that I dealt with most that is, was just helping with the workshops that she was, well Natalie was hosting at the time. So I would meet students like from college age to young children who were going to elementary school. So I would just be there to sometimes help them with the projects because they’re the same projects we did when I was an Apprentice. So I was familiar with them. Aside from that, I did test some like synthetic biology kids, because it was more just like a student’s perspective. And so the student product, and so I would kind of just run and go through the experiments, see if it was something that I would understand and then, you know, provide feedback.
Kevin Fuentes (06:46):
And then also I, there was times where, I mean, Natalie also gave me the opportunity to kind of just do some research on my own to just kind of have time to look into things that I was interested in and I continue or did a little bit more studying up on the project I did during my Apprenticeship with the plasmid and finding out if it was feasible. And I even considered iGem and looking for the right parts if I was going to make something like that. But I think that there just wasn’t enough time, but I did appreciate that she gave me some time to just think and to just, you know, practice and provide a little bit of application to everything that I had seen, because for the most part, most of it was pretty restricted to conceptual. And so it was really nice to just get a chance to apply it to what I felt was the real world.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (07:28):
I like how you mentioned the, the teaching aspect as well, because I’ve been doing a bit of teaching in the past year or two, and it’s the best way to learn. You realize how much you don’t know. College students are a bit easier, but I remember I was teaching year six, about a grade six, about a DNA. That was a challenge.
Kevin Fuentes (07:47):
Well, most definitely because the hands raised a slew of questions that just one after the other one, I’d be like, but why, but why, but why? And you’re just kinda like, well, I don’t know. And then eventually it gets like the extent of what the, really, the foundational knowledge that you have. You’re like, “Well, I don’t know.” That’s when, like, if, you’re right, you are definitely challenged with things that you don’t know because you know, you have to teach something.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (08:08):
And that’s how, you know, your learning as well.
Kevin Fuentes (08:10):
Yeah. Most definitely. It was like, it’s kinda like a few months in like a, like a dream almost cause every, just like, obviously when you’re in high school, you’re not very much thinking sometimes about, I guess, your future professionally and just, you know, kinda like what, what continues after you even get out of high school, let alone college.
Kevin Fuentes (08:26):
So it was my first time really seeing like these startup companies who are all really batting for their ideas and writing grants and, you know, kind of seeing just a little glimpse of the life of biotech and how they go from a small, like young company to these huge, like companies that we see today with like, you know, some somethings that like Pfizer and Biogen, it’s just crazy to kind of see it all started from like the sandbox and a simple idea. But it kind of motivates you, but then you’re like, “Oh, so this is somewhere that I guess my passion and interests could take me.”
Zeeshan Siddiqui (09:01):
I think it’s the best time to be in, you know, biotech/synbio ever.
Kevin Fuentes (09:05):
Oh most definitely.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (09:06):
When we started… the next question I wanted to ask was you’ve sort of like, I guess touch, touched on this already. I was going to ask, how did BioBuilder sort of provide a platform for you to develop as a synthetic biologist, but I guess I’ll also reword it to, how did it help sort of break down barriers in terms of, you know, access to great, great science? I guess, how did it give you access to a potential career in STEM? Like were before BioBuilder, were, did you understand what a career in stem meant or were you’re trying to like figure that out?
Kevin Fuentes (09:35):
Honestly, that’s probably like a really great new question because I did not know what a career in STEM and for the most part I actually, before, before BioBuilder there, I was very convinced I was going to be an orthopedic surgeon. That was, that was the goal at the time. It was just, I come from a, like an immigrant family. I’m a first gen student. So there’s sometimes there’s kind of a very two line path. You’re going to be a lawyer or a doctor. And so I had a pretty like set idea of a, not because of something that I was passionate about. It was mostly just something because it was the thing to do. And so that’s why I kind of was preparing myself, that’s why I took AP bio, but I think that’s probably one of the things I will always thank like BioBuilder for, because it was really a watershed moment in my form, and like kind of like my growth and for me to set a trajectory for myself, because when I did see what a biotech was like, when I did see what being at a bench was like, what I did see, what, like a startup looked like in what biotech can be and just the potential behind synthetic biology and biotechnology and bioengineering and gene therapy, I fell in love.
Kevin Fuentes (10:37):
Because for me, I was looking to create like, or just like, I guess an overall, but like, I, I want to create everlasting change. That is the end thing, but you really just want to find the means and the medium and the platform to do it. And I felt like there’s just so much power in like our understanding of biology and microbiology and yourselves and human, the human biome, that synthetic biology kind of, and my work with Natalie and BioBuilder really kind of just set me straight and it was like, “Hey, this is a possibility for you.” And that was probably what was the most empowering that it, it made it seem like it could happen and it made it seem like it was real. And so aside from just like the, you know, the practical help that it gave me, like in terms of skills and things to provide me for the future job, it really just kind of set me with confidence that this was something I can do because for the most part, I’m not, I would still maybe argue that I’m not the best math person or really STEM person.
Kevin Fuentes (11:36):
I was at high school as much more, I feel talented at like, like English and history. Like those where I was very much more into humanities. I just, wasn’t very interested in it with science in biology and chemistry and math and physics. Those are the things that were harder for me get at first. But once you challenge yourself, because you tell yourself, “I can do it.” And honestly, really stems from my time at BioBuilder. They kind of convinced me like, oh, I’m a very capable person who can most definitely do it. If it’s something that I want to do. And that kind of just like really did change my life. Like I, I kind of did a 180 turn from like a lot of the preconceived notions that I had about the professional future. And, you know, I guess kinda the rest is history because I kind of just chugged along and pushed the head to where I am now.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (12:24):
It’s really important, especially, you know, latter stages of high school that BioBuilder showed that belief in you. And also one thing I’ve seen with synthetic biology, it’s a very broad field under the synbio umbrella. There’s biochemistry, there’s a lot of math, there’s economics as humanities, a lot of different things that you need to consider, right. And sometimes it’s easy to get lost. And I think one thing, just having talked to you for the past few minutes is BioBuilder to help also not only expose you to that world and show, you know, the wonders of synthetic biology, but also give a bit of direction into how to get from point A to point B. So it’s, it’s fair to say that BioBuilder was quite influential in your choice for pursuing, so you’re doing chemical and bioengineering at Tufts, right?
Kevin Fuentes (13:08):
So I’m doing chemical engineering and biochemistry. Yeah, I would say that, but honestly, I, they kind of like sent me a path, but I must have kind of got lost in the sense that I knew that I want to go in life sciences. I knew that I wanted to be in some form of biology and that I wanted to do something along the lines of synthetic biology and that I could do it. But at this point now it was more just focusing in on what that really looks like and what that means because you’re having to select a major, especially because like I, I moved into the school of engineering and it’s a very soon, like I’ve written, declared my major and it was kind of like, it’s kind of terrifying because like, they kind of expect you to have an idea of what you’re going to do.
Kevin Fuentes (13:48):
So I was originally settled on biomedical engineering and I, after, you know, studying that for a little bit for just like, at least looking into what that means as a professional future, it just wasn’t something that I was particularly interested in. And then, so at the time I was thinking chemistry and I realized I loved chemistry. Like it was probably something that would just like I was good at and I could do. And so I was like, you know what? I think we’re going to do chemical engineering. And at the time, like also, we’d only done a few prerequisites, so there’s still room for me to change. And then I took biochemistry as the second major because I still have this feeling that I might end up more on the biology side, but I wasn’t sure. And I’m still not entirely sure, but really where I guess that understanding now comes from is where I’m working now.
Kevin Fuentes (14:36):
I’m not doing anything really crazy there I’m really just like a lab associate. Like I’m not, you know, like a part of their team, their discoveries and grants and like that. But what BioBuilder finished, they picked back up in terms of like my formation and my understanding, because the thing I was really concerned was where does chemical engineering align with a lot of the things I fell in love with a few years ago. And like, how can I kind of continue something that I picked up and enjoy with a lot of the initial dreams and aspirations I had before? And that’s really in your right when you started looking into really a biotech, there’s so much more than just like, oh, your, your biologists, like your traditional biologists, you have an entire finance team, you have people who are doing marketing. And then also on the other hand, you have people who are, yes, biologists doing discovery in terms of, like there’s like a histology team, but there’s also a vectorology team and people who are building like, you know, capsids to inject some kind of virus into something else.
Kevin Fuentes (15:32):
And I’m still very new to all of that as well. But like, it’s really motivating to know that there is a place for a chemical engineer in the initial aspirations and ideas that I had that were introduced to me by BioBuilder. BioBuilder definitely like, kind of set me on the path. And so what I will say is that I still am very, very, sometimes overwhelmed by just the immense amount of options that you can have with not just synthetic biology, but just biology as a discipline. I, I get a little bit closer to the, the place I want to be. And, but I think it’s, at the end of the day, I would never even be where I am right now, had it not been for my initial, my initial interactions with BioBuilder.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (16:11):
Definitely. And I’m sure you’d love to stay connected with the, I mean, once you’re, once you go through a BioBuilder program, I really think it’s a lifelong connection to the community, that network and to the people. And I’m sure you some point again, love to maybe mentor a BioBuilderClub,
Kevin Fuentes (16:28):
Honestly. Yeah. I mean, I, I really would never even see a reason why I was in now. It’s more of a thing where I just, there was a lot of people who did that. They volunteered for maybe working with BioBuilder before in high school, or just really talented people that they outsourced to and reached out to who came. Those people were also especially valuable to me because they were always the people that would ask, how did you get here? Like, what were like, how did, what was the process for you? Where’d you go to school? What’d you study? And those conversations were probably some of the most important conversations that I had because when I was confused really about the direction in which I was going, and they provided a lot of helpful insight. And so for me, it’d be very motivating to be that person for someone else.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (17:15):
What would your message be to, I guess, current high school students, right. Who are interested in applying to their Apprenticeship program?
Kevin Fuentes (17:23):
Just, I guess with context, I really wasn’t going to do it at first. I was a very big track runner in high school and the Apprenticeship program runs through track. So it was a huge, it was actually a really big decision for me because I had a lot of aspirations for that season. My coach like grilled me. He was like, well, what are you doing? Why would you leave this season? Why would you just kind of, it was really a hard decision to make, but I’ll say is, is this is that BioBuilder and the services that they provide and the education they provide is an amazing opportunity to learn, expose yourself and immerse yourself into the world of what synthetic biology is, but also a career in the life sciences can be. Nothing is as motivating as knowing that you have the capacity to do something.
Kevin Fuentes (18:05):
And BioBuilder most definitely provides that opportunity. I think aside from just the practical knowledge that they gave me BioBuilder, that changed my life by just showing me that it’s possible. I would never stop recommending BioBuilder to anybody who’s going to, who was thinking about it. And if you’re looking to apply to these, the Apprenticeship or a BioBuilderClub, do it. If you truly have the desire to create change in this world, then sometimes all it takes is just finding out or figuring out how you’re going to do it. And I can tell you right now, that BioBuilder, maybe biology is not what you want to do. Maybe it’s not, what’s going, it’s going to be what you can do, but it will be something that will provide you with a general sense that you are capable. I feel like nobody’s more equipped to do that than BioBuilder.
Zeeshan Siddiqui (18:50):
Thanks once again, to you, Kevin, for joining me today. It was great to hear him reflect on his time with BioBuilder there. He mentioned that he did not see himself as the best STEM student, but once he decided to challenge himself with the Apprenticeship program, his mentality shifted to I’m a very capable person who can most definitely do it, if it’s something I really want to do. And I found that very insightful and inspiring, I believe this episode will be very useful to any high school student interested in learning more about the BioBuilder Apprenticeship program, or the BioBuilderClub, and also current BioBuilder ambassadors and the BioBuilder community. Because this episode, as well as the other episodes where I interview students, gives a great insight into how BioBuilder has influenced student lives in terms of their professional and personal development. If you would like to learn more about anything, Kevin and I discussed today, please refer to the show notes. Join me for the next BioBuilder podcast. We’ll welcome another wonderful guest whose career has been influenced by BioBuilder’s life-changing science. See you next time.