Who We Are
ClutchBio is a start-up biotechnology company with a vision to fill what we see as an unmet need for plasmid cloning services that offer quick turnaround times to enable faster experimental iteration for research teams. This endeavor was born out of our experience working at a biotech start-up, where we built an internal cloning and strain engineering team to meet our own high needs for throughput, speed, and efficiency. At our peak, we had a small team of five constructing several thousand plasmids per year to support intense R&D efforts, and we think biotechnology research would benefit greatly if similar capabilities were available as a service.
Meet the Team
Jake Flood, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & CEO
Jake brings extensive knowledge in Golden Gate cloning design as well as automation for high-throughput biology applications. Previously, he led a highly productive strain engineering team in a fast-paced startup environment. He looks forward to continuing to apply synthetic biology principles to fields ranging from metabolic engineering to human therapeutics.
jflood@clutchbio.com
Kathy Lam, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Kathy is highly experienced in bacterial genetics and molecular cloning. Previously, she led a startup R&D project team to optimize phenotypes for a gut bacterial therapeutic, often requiring design and analysis of hundreds of plasmids and strains. She is excited to make cloning easier and faster for research teams and organizations to help enable science and discovery.
klam@clutchbio.com
Bonnie Mak, B.Sc.
Research Associate
Bonnie is experienced in Golden Gate cloning and bacterial genome engineering, and brings additional skills in lab management and organization. Previously, she has worked on teams specializing in strain engineering and culture collections. She is excited to contribute to the mission of providing rapid modular plasmid construction.
bmak@clutchbio.com
Joshua Guzman, B.Sc.
Research Associate
jguzman@clutchbio.com
Josh brings experience from many areas, from process development and animal handling to fermentation and manufacturing. He is excited to apply and streamline Golden Gate cloning strategies to build plasmids ever more efficiently.
Lin Cai, B.Sc.
Research Assistant
Lin is experienced in genotyping, animal husbandry, and fieldwork. She’s excited to help make plasmid construction faster and more efficient by improving Golden Gate cloning techniques.
lcai@clutchbio.com
Harris Husain, M.S.
Research Assistant
hhusain@clutchbio.com
Harris is experienced in cloning, characterizing bacterial mutant phenotypes, and modifying assays and protocols. He is excited to contribute towards plasmid construction and to learn new skills and techniques along the way.