Luke McKay

About Luke McKay

Microbial research and biotechnology leader driving innovation towards sustainable solutions~ CTO / Founder at Symbiotic BiosystemsI\'m working with a stellar team of scientists and engineers to build custom bioinformatics software for industrial bioprocess optimization. My role also includes customer discovery and investor engagement. AI & Computational Biology, Team Leader at LanzaTechAt LanzaTech I leveraged expertise in microbial DNA, RNA, and protein analysis to enhance microbial conversions of waste gas into valuable chemical products. I led a talented team of scientists and software engineers and together we used state-of-the-art AI and computational biology tools to drive R&D efforts and deliver high-quality data analysis. We were responsible for maintenance and development of bioinformatics pipelines and databases as well as in-depth data analysis and reporting/communication of results. Former Assistant Research Professor at Montana State UniversityAs an Assistant Research Professor at Montana State University, I conducted field, laboratory, and computational research leading to high impact peer-reviewed publications. I taught senior-level Microbial Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution, and led or collaborated on several grant proposals and awards. Professional SkillsetProject management, Stakeholder aligning, Biotechnology, Carbon Capture & Utilization, Methane & Sulfur Metabolisms, Molecular Biology, Microbial Ecology, Oceanography, Extreme Environments, Bioinformatics & Data Analysis, Field & Laboratory Research, Science Communication, Scientific Publication & Grant Writing Academic Excellence22 peer-reviewed publications including Science, Nature Microbiology, Nature Communications;> 2,300 citations as of May 2025, h index = 18, i10 index = 20Postdoctoral Research: 4 years researching life in extreme environments, including 2 years as a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow with the NASA Astrobiology Institute.MS/PhD in Marine Sciences: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Graduate Fellow with the NSF Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations)BS Molecular Biology / Minor Chemistry: University of Alabama at Birmingham (with Honors) Skilled Science CommunicatorI\'ve shared my work at TEDxBozeman, C2-Montreal, and HATCH-Big Sky. I was also featured in The Most Unknown (ScienceSandbox, Netflix) and Ancient Yellowstone (CuriosityStream).

Experience

1. CTO Founder

   Symbi.Bio

   Aug 2025 — Present

Education

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Marine Sciences

  2011 — 2014

• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  Master of Science - MS, Marine Sciences

  2008 — 2011

• University of Alabama at Birmingham

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Molecular Biology

  2003 — 2007