Maria Astolfi

Born and raised in the Amazon rainforest, I am a bioengineer working at the intersection of synthetic biology and biodiversity protection. I co-founded the first synthetic biology laboratory in the Amazon in Brazil and am currently a Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley with Prof. Jay Keasling. My work develops AI-guided automation to scale the biomanufacturing of medicinal molecules, replacing extractive, forest-cutting supply chains. I advocate for frameworks that return benefits to biodiversity stewards through equitable partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, positioning synthetic biology as a tool for stewardship within an ethical, circular bioeconomy.