Kiara Reyes Gamas, Ph.D., is an environmental synthetic biologist, science illustrator, and nonresident postdoctoral scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Her research focuses on developing RNA-based memory systems to study horizontal gene transfer dynamics in environmental microbial communities. She is an advocate for the responsible use of synthetic biology tools to address the environmental crisis, while ensuring that their development and deployment are safe, effective, and socially responsible. She emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research, good science communication, and the integration of non-academic communities into the governance and decision-making of biotechnology. Dr. Reyes Gamas is particularly engaged in conversations around biotechnologies beyond conventional containment (BBCCs) and engineered microbes for environmental release (EMERs). 

Dr. Reyes Gamas holds a B.S. in Bioengineering from Rice University, where she also earned her Ph.D. in the Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology Graduate Program under the mentorship of Dr. Lauren Stadler and Dr. Joff Silberg.