Christopher Johnson is a senior scientist in NREL’s Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center. Using synthetic biology and laboratory evolution, his research aims to develop bacterial strains for hybrid electrocatalytic/biocatalytic systems that can convert carbon dioxide and renewable electricity into fuels and chemicals. Christopher is also a member of the Agile BioFoundry, a consortium of national labs developing synthetic biology tools, technologies, and infrastructure to advance sustainable biomanufacturing.

Research Interests

Education

Ph.D., Molecular Biology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus

B.S., Microbiology, Indiana University, Bloomington

Professional Experience

Staff Scientist, NREL, NBC (2015–present)

Postdoctoral Researcher, NREL, NBC (2012–2015)

Molecular Biologist, Gevo (2011–2012)

Research Associate, Metabolix (now Yield10 Bioscience) (2000–2005)

Featured Work

Improving Growth of Cupriavidus necator H16 on Formate Using Adaptive Laboratory Evolution-Informed Engineering, Metabolic Engineering (2023)

Muconic Acid Production From Glucose and Xylose in Pseudomonas putida via Evolution and Metabolic Engineering, Nature Communications (2022)

Gene Amplification, Laboratory Evolution, and Biosensor Screening Reveal MucK as a Terephthalic Acid Transporter in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, Metabolic Engineering (2020)

Innovative Chemicals and Materials from Bacterial Aromatic Catabolic Pathways, Joule (2019)

Aromatic Catabolic Pathway Selection for Optimal Production of Pyruvate and Lactate From Lignin, Metabolic Engineering (2015)

Patents

Conversion of Biomass to Useful Intermediates, U.S. Patent No. 11,326,190 B2 (2022)

Engineered Microorganisms for the Production of Intermediates and Final Products, U.S. Patent No. 11,518,975 B2 (2022)

Microbial Syringol Utilization, U.S. Patent No. 11,208,642 B2 (2020)

Conversion of S-Lignin Compounds to Useful Intermediates, U.S. Patent No. 11,136,601 B2 (2020)

Enzymes and Methods for Dealkylation of Substrates, U.S. Patent No. 10,745,719 (2019)

Lignin Conversion to Fuels, Chemicals, and Materials, U.S. Patent No. 10,266,852 (2019)

Conversion of Biomass to Useful Intermediates, U.S. Patent No. 10,253,338 (2019)

Enzymes and Methods for Dealkylation of Substrates, U.S. Patent No. 10,196,656 (2019)

Biomass Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals, U.S. Patent No. 10,337,034 B2 (2018)

Chimeric Enzymes for Conversion of Lignin-Derived Chemicals, U.S. Patent No. 10,087,425 (2018)

Biomass Conversion to Fuels and Chemicals, U.S. Patent No. 10,017,792 (2018)