Dr. Mutalik is a Staff Scientist and Principal Investigator at the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Functional genomics Department, and Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA. His research group is focused on developing tools and technologies to study and engineer diverse bacteria, phages and their interactions. He won R & D 100 award for a high-throughout functional genomics technology. Dr. Mutalik is passionate about establishing Phage Foundry, a unified facility for engineering phages and phage-like particles for diverse applications.
Previously, Dr. Mutalik led the NSF-funded-BIOFAB project, the world's first biological design-build facility to supply genetic parts and tools freely with no associated IP. Dr. Mutalik received his PhD in Chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India and was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Prof Carol Gross at University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Mutalik has three years of experience in the Biotechnology Industry in handling more than hundred kiloliter industrial fermentation units, bulk drug manufacturing and resource management. He has recently cofounded Felix Biotechnology, focused on accelerating the deployment of novel biotherapeutics targeting urgent microbial challenges in human health and beyond.
Away from work, Dr. Mutalik likes to spend time on gardening, artwork with different materials and art projects with his kids.