Discovering SynBio: A High Schooler’s Perspective

I've always known that I wanted to do something in STEM. Ever since middle school, I’ve been drawn to the interesting concepts of coding, numbers, puzzles, and the big “what if?” questions my teachers would pose. I would design experiments at home to test hypotheses and do my own research in areas that interested me. That said, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Today, there's so much pressure placed on students my age to have everything figured out; And for a long time, I knew there was something in STEM for me, I just couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.

It wasn’t until early sophomore year, during my English class, that something clicked for me in STEM: synthetic biology (SynBio).

Here’s some context. During my sophomore year, we began our Team Multimedia Presentation (TMP) for the AP Seminar Exam curriculum. My class was divided into groups of 2–5, given the AP's general topic (“something to do with ethics”), and asked to conduct research in order to make a convincing presentation that would be recorded and submitted for AP graders to review.

And it wasn’t my own presentation that changed everything—it was one of my friend’s. Their presentation focused on whether CRISPR and genetic coding were ethical in animal sciences. The topic instantly caught my attention. My head began racing with questions as they went through their slideshow: Wait, we can actually edit DNA? What does it mean to “program” life? How far can this technology really go? After the bell rang, I rushed home to look up more, hoping to answer the million questions I had during that presentation.

I started watching youtube videos, listening to TED Talks, and reading different articles to try and broaden my understanding of the topic to the best of my ability. I was amazed that biology could be approached like engineering, living cells could be programmed like computers, and that this field was already influencing medicine, agriculture, energy, etc. It was at that point that I realized that this was something with infinite possibilities.

Since then, I’ve shaped my classes around my interests in SynBio: I’m currently taking foundational courses like Calculus AB, Computer Science A (Java), and Chemistry, with plans to take Biology and Physics 2 in my senior year. I have also been actively reaching out to innovators in this space to learn more from the experts. I am proud to announce I have earned an opportunity to participate in research with an Australian SynBio startup: Alphinia Bio PTY LTD.

As I’ve started learning more about SynBio, I’ve also realized how few people around me even know what it is—let alone how powerful and full of potential this field can be. That’s why I created this blog. I want to document my own journey into SynBio, but more than that, I want to share what I’m learning and hopefully inspire other curious minds along the way. I don’t just see this as a possible career path—I see it as a way to connect, innovate, and help shape the future.

In the months that follow, I plan to keep you updated on my journey through SynBio, posting once or twice a week about what SynBio is and the many ways it’s being applied in the real world, including my experience working with Alphinia Bio. I hope students who love STEM but maybe haven’t looked into the field of SynBio find something here that sparks their interest. Maybe it even leads them toward a future they hadn’t imagined yet.

Thanks for being here with me. I can’t wait to see where this blog takes me.

— Aidan Kincaid