Skip to main content

About Katy Kao

Dr. Katy Kao is an associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at San Jose State University. Dr. Kao's research focuses on genomics, systems biology and biotechnology. Her laboratory is interested in using genomic and systems biological tools to study microbial adaptation in various environments. Specifically, Kao is focusing on the use of adaptive laboratory evolution to develop microbes such as yeast and bacteria for enhanced tolerance to toxic feedstock and products and to increase product formation. Her lab utilizes omics tools in an effort to identify the cellular components responsible for the selected traits. In addition to industrial biotechnology application, she is also interested in understanding how opportunistic human fungal pathogens adapt to environmental stressors and how interactions between different species that are co-isolated impact biofilm formation, which is an important aspect of pathogenesis.

Positions

August 2019 - Present Associate Professor, San Jose State University Chemical and Materials Engineering
to
September 2014 - Present Associate Professor, Texas A&M University ‐ Department of Chemical Engineering
to
August 2008 - August 2014 Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University ‐ Department of Chemical Engineering
to

Curriculum Vitae


Disciplines


Research Interests


$
to
Enter a valid date range.

Professional Service and Affiliations

2019 - Present Editor, Scientific Report
2013 - Present Editorial Board Member, Journal of Biological Engineering
2010 - Present Academic Editor, PLoS ONE
Present Member, American Chemical Society (ACS)
Present Member, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
Present Member, American Society of Microbiology (ASM)
Present Member, Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (SIMB)
2019 - 2020 Guest Editor for Special Issue, Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology
2018 - 2019 Guest Editor for Special Issue, Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology
to
Enter a valid date range.

Honors and Awards

  • Presidential Undergraduate Research Award - 1996
  • National Institutes of Health - National Research Service Award (NRSA) - 2007
  • National Science Foundation - Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award - 2011
  • TEES Select Young Faculty - 2012
  • Fluor Distinguished Teaching Award – 2013
  • George Armistead, Jr. ’23 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award – 2017
  • Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement - College-Level Teaching Award – 2017-2018
  • Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Association (ChEGSA) Faculty of the year – 2018

Education

to
2005 - 2008 Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University ‐ Department of Genetics
to
2005 Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles ‐ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
to
1997 B.S., University of California, Irvine ‐ Department of Chemical Engineering
to



Publications (44)

Book Chapters (4)

Invited Talks (23)