I enjoy solving problems and puzzles, and science is just one big puzzle to me. It's fulfilling to realize that what I'm doing in the lab can make a difference for our planet by pushing forward the field of synthetic biology.

Matt Deaner

Staff Scientist

Employee Spotlight

headshot matt deaner

What is your proudest accomplishment at Elegen?

I really enjoy the “a-ha moment,” when a challenge has been bugging me for a while and I finally come to a realization that helps me solve the problem. The first time we were getting ready to ship out an order after months of hard work developing and automating our synthesis workflow, there was some intense troubleshooting where I had an “a-ha moment” and solved one of the key problems. It was really satisfying to know that we had overcome one of the last major hurdles and were ready to start shipping to customers.

What do you like about working at Elegen?

It has to be the people! Everyone here is really humble and motivated to work as a team to reach our goals. There’s a special team camaraderie here that is unmatched.

Favorite Hobbies?

I am an avid chess player in my spare time, but I also enjoy playing other board games, video games, and sports. I also enjoy traveling, specifically the times I’ve been to Rome and Japan. My most unique travel experience would have to be when I went to the World Cup in Moscow in 2018 and saw Russia beat Spain in a huge upset.

img matt deaner