Erik Jakubec

Erik is a second-year doctoral student whose research focuses on soft coral terpene biosynthesis and genome-encoded cryptic natural products. His work is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach to traditional natural products discovery, integrating spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques with bioinformatics, plasmid engineering for heterologous expression, enzymatic studies, and product diversification. During his undergraduate training at the University of South Florida, he conducted research in Dr. Baker’s laboratory, investigating fungal and marine natural products and their potential for drug discovery targeting orphaned diseases. Outside of the laboratory, Erik enjoys outdoor activities such as biking and running, as well as reading and exploring interests in computing and video games.