Our Team
April Lukowski
Principal Investigator
April first developed an interest in enzymes and the environment as an undergraduate student at Saginaw Valley State University, where she completed a B.S. in Biochemistry. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from the University of Michigan with Alison Narayan studying the biosynthesis of saxitoxin in cyanobacteria and the application of enzymes in biocatalysis. She joined the lab of Bradley Moore at UC San Diego to study the biosynthesis of halogenated toxins and connecting genes to molecules. April launched her own research group at UC San Diego at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Fall 2023, where her lab focuses on the discovery of novel enzymes from natural product biosynthetic pathways and their applications as biocatalysts in medicinal chemistry.
Robert Benisch
Postdoctoral Researcher
Robert grew up in Germany and did his Bachelor in Liberal Arts and Sciences at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After his undergraduate, he joined a start-up in San Francisco to work on the structural biology of antibody drugs and their targets. He then earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Biology at the University of Michigan in the lab of Tobias Giessen, working on the structure, biochemistry and enzymology of bacterial protein compartments. Robert joined the Lukowski lab in August 2024 to work on the discovery and development of novel enzymes for biocatalysis. Outside of the lab, he likes to play sports, enjoys making coffee, trying new restaurants with his wife, and spending time with his cat and dog.
email: rbenisch@ucsd.edu
Lucas Cohen
Graduate Student
email: l4cohen@ucsd.edu
Anna Skrip
Graduate Student
I am originally from the Great Lake State where I attended Grand Valley State University to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. I then worked for 3 years in industry followed by my current pursuit of a PhD at UCSD. When I’m not neck deep in the primordial soup of knowledge (in lab), I enjoy anything that gets me outdoors and finding all of the best places to eat!
email: askrip@ucsd.edu
Lisa Saxton
Graduate Student
I moved around from Japan to Tennessee and then spent the majority of my life growing up in San Diego, California. Environmentalism and spending time in nature are passions of mine, and I became interested in environmental-related research during my undergraduate years at UC Berkeley where I studied molecular environmental biology and conservation resources studies. I worked with microalgal biotechnology for nearly 2 years after graduating and am very excited for my graduate school journey at SIO to research natural products and bioremediation. Beyond the lab, I enjoy going to jazz jams to play my alto sax, attending live concerts, and vibing by the beach.
email: lsaxton@ucsd.edu
Natalie Murphy
Graduate Student
Natalie is originally from Virginia where she completed her bachelors degree at Virginia Tech studying biochemistry. She then completed two different post-baccalaureate research years in academic labs and spent some time as a barista before heading to UCSD to pursue a PhD. She is excited to now be in the Lukowski group investigating bile salt hydrolases and their various functions, host-associated and beyond. When not in lab or wrangling data, she enjoys surfing, roasting in the sun with a book, and yoga.
Email: namurphy@ucsd.edu
Johnny Tran
Masters Student
Johnny is a BS/MS student student studying Environmental Systems (with an emphasis in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution). He received his A.S. and A.A. degree from Orange Coast College where he found his passion for the ocean and environment researching bottlenose dolphin migration patterns. He joins the lab conducting his senior thesis on the potential natural products of coastal lichen. Outside of lab find him on the beach flying his jellyfish kite!
email: jot019@ucsd.edu
Matthew Lam
Undergraduate Student
Matthew is a fourth year marine biology undergraduate attending UC San Diego, who's found interest in the microbiology and natural product field through his experience in the Marine Biology Laboratory Course with Professor April Lukowski at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Yearning for some lab experience, a discussion with Professor Lukowski led to him being under the guidance of Anna Skrip. In the past, Matthew has volunteered at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center helping care for endangered white abalones, and interned for Zeitios LLC's developer and marketing team. Additionally, Matthew is a volunteer at Birch Aquarium where he interacts with guests and actively practices science communication with both younger and older audiences. During his free time, he enjoys playing relaxing video games with friends or spending hours in the gym playing badminton.
email: mslam@ucsd.edu
Antonio Puron
Undergraduate Student
Antonio is a fourth-year undergraduate student from Mexico City studying Molecular & Cell Biology, with minors in Marine Science and Climate Change Studies. A passion for the interface between biology, physics and chemistry and an interest to apply them in ocean systems was met when he entered the world of Marine Natural Products research. He joins the lab as a prospective BS/MS student investigating structural drivers of substrate specificity in Flavin-Dependent Halogenase enzymes from marine cyanobacteria. Outside the lab, Antonio snowboards all winter and SCUBA dives all summer!
Email: jpuronguerrero@ucsd.edu