Oza LabHome of Synthetic Biology at Cal Poly
Members of the Oza Lab, including Javin Oza standing at the back, gathered around a beach bonfire at sunset and smiling at the camera

A collaborative research group where undergraduate students help shape the questions, experiments, and discoveries.

Undergraduate researchers are at the center of everything we do, from the first experiment to the final paper.

Javin Oza, principal investigator of the Oza Lab, smiling with arms crossed

Principal investigator

Javin P. Oza, Ph.D.

Associate Professor · Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Javin Oza leads the Oza Lab, where undergraduate researchers develop cell-free protein synthesis and synthetic cell technologies. His teaching follows Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing philosophy, from general chemistry to Engineering Synthetic Cells, a course-based undergraduate research experience. He also mentors Cal Poly’s iGEM team.

Google Scholarjoza [at] calpoly [dot] edu

The people behind the work

Undergraduate researchers

Students learn through meaningful contributions to ongoing research.

Clara Lillie

Emily Cook

Grace Montgomery

Gwen Hampden

Kira Kuhlman

Larissa Firmansyah

Logan Bizzle

Maia Lambson

Sunayana Nguyen

Life in the lab

Learning by doing, together

A group of students and lab members watching a microscope image on a computer screen while one student sits at the controls

For prospective members

There’s room to learn.

Curious about undergraduate research in synthetic biology? We welcome students who want to learn, ask questions, and work collaboratively.

How to get involved