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
Masters 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
Johnny Tran
Undergraduate Student
Johnny is a fourth year undergrad 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