Meet Vivien Marmerstein
“I was looking for places that had research that I was interested in because I knew at that point that I had a passion for research. And I think BioBuilder really informed that passion“
— Vivien Marmerstein
A lot of people can tell you they “like science.” Fewer can explain the exact moment it turns into a direction and what it takes to keep going when the project gets messy. We sit down with Vivien Marmerstein, a former BioBuilderClub student who returns to Western Reserve Academy as a science teacher and BioBuilderClub leader, to map the real path from early curiosity to synthetic biology fluency and classroom mentorship.
We talk about what made BioBuilder click in high school, why design-first synthetic biology projects can be just as formative as wet lab work, and how learning to choose a chassis, identify genetic parts, and frame a solvable question builds real research instincts. Vivien shares the kinds of projects that hooked her early, including engineered yeast for flavor production and bacteria as protein factories, then connects those lessons to her undergraduate experience in virology research, where PCR, genotyping, and model organism work made iteration and troubleshooting a daily practice.
The conversation comes full circle when Vivien describes teaching synbio as a multi-year course that now reaches the lab phase, and what it takes to guide nine student teams through biodesign without shutting down creativity. We also paint a clear picture of the BioBuilderClub Final Assembly, from lightning talks to poster sessions, and why science communication is part of the experiment, not an add-on.
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