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CU Boulder Alum is named one of MIT鈥檚 Innovators Under 35 for her work with amino acids

LEGO blocks and dragons might not be the first things you think about when it comes to biochemistry. But for Tina Boville (PhDBiochem鈥�17), each represents where she started and how far she has come today.

鈥淲hen I was little, I read these books called The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey,鈥� Boville says. 鈥淭hose have bioengineered dragons; and I thought we should use genetic engineering to make whatever we need, and it鈥檒l be useful for everybody.鈥澨�

Fast forward from dragons to an internship during and after her undergraduate experience at the University of Colorado Boulder, and that line of thinking sprouted productive seeds.听

鈥淚 got an internship at Amgen (a biotech company) for just the summer, but then I was able to stay on for a couple more years,鈥� Boville says.听

鈥淓verybody (at Amgen) is really enthusiastic about the science, you're working on a project that is directly relevant to human health, and you鈥檙e able to help people.鈥�

Boville is now the CEO of , a company that provides sustainable alternatives to chemical manufacturing by creating, among other things, non-canonical amino acids.

鈥淭hese are molecules that you can use to construct larger chemical or biological molecules.鈥� Boville says. 鈥淛ust like with LEGOs, you鈥檙e going to want amino acids in different shapes and sizes to build what you need.鈥�

鈥淵ou can imagine that if combining just the 20 standard amino acids generates all the diversity of life, then if you had more building blocks, you鈥檇 be able to do even more.鈥�

Using a process called directed evolution, Boville engineered natural enzymes that then produced these amino acids, which are very important chemicals used in the production of medicines treating everything from migraines to diabetes. They are also used in agriculture.

This new method pioneered by Boville is not only more efficient than the previous method used to produce these amino acids, it鈥檚 also much faster.

鈥淭he application of this technology can have a big impact in pharmaceuticals and agriculture,鈥� Boville says.

Before, chemicals made for pharmaceuticals and agriculture might take weeks, even months, to create. Now, Boville鈥檚 process creates amino acids overnight with far less waste. This sustainable production is new to the world of biochemistry, so much so that Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) took notice, and named her one of .

The Innovators Under 35 is an annual list that recognizes those who are working toward a better world from fields as far-reaching as communications to energy to biotechnology. Notable recipients of the award, which is in its 20th year, include JB Straubel, the co-founder of Tesla Motors, and Feng Zhang, a gene editing technology pioneer.

While Boville appreciates the recognition, attracting new interest in sustainability is the true prize.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good that people are recognizing the importance of green chemistry and clean tech in general.鈥� Boville says.听

Boville, who is also a fellow with , co-founded Aralez Bio in 2019 with 2018 Nobel Prize winner Frances Arnold and fellow postdoc David Romney, and considers it one of the lucky ones in the current COVID-19 pandemic. While other labs are closing due to the pandemic鈥檚 impact, her lab is able to push through the current situation.

鈥淪tartups are navigating uncertainty with funding, supply chains, safety and morale. It鈥檚 certainly a tough time for everyone,鈥� Boville says.听

Despite the pandemic, this past summer Boville鈥檚 company figured out how to have an undergraduate intern come in and contribute ideas to the current workload. For Boville, this is one of those full circle moments in life, going from intern to choosing one.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely exciting to pass that knowledge on and see how people who haven鈥檛 been thinking about this problem the way you have for so long, how they can have a different take and bring new ideas that we hadn鈥檛 even thought about.鈥�