About

Joyce Mo

I was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and spent my early childhood in Guangxi, China, before my family settled in Highland Park, New Jersey. There I studied classical Western fine art under Ana Soto-Canino at the Academy of Art of Highland Park for nearly eleven years, eventually teaching there as the studio’s Captain-Coach. Chinese calligraphy I learned from my father, Lao Mo.

At Princeton I studied chemical and biological engineering, with minors in Sustainable Energy and Visual Arts. I did research on transcription-factor biosensors in the Avalos Lab, served as President of the Princeton University Art Museum Student Advisory Board, and spent a lot of time in the ceramics studio. After graduating, I worked as an engineer at Princeton Satellite Systems on space propulsion and multi-sensor target tracking.

Now I’m a PhD student in the UC Berkeley–UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, where I use machine learning and molecular simulation to study and design proteins and RNA. I’m also a venture fellow at Riceberg Ventures, an early-stage deep-tech fund.

I’m always trying to combine art, science, and technology: to make observations, ask questions, and make things that invite people to think about their own identities and interconnectedness. Outside of work I like hiking, ice cream, 3D printing, and the pottery wheel.

Education

  • Ph.D., Bioengineering, UC Berkeley & UCSF
  • B.S.E., Chemical & Biological Engineering, Princeton University, 2024. Minors in Sustainable Energy and Visual Arts.
  • Fine art studies, Academy of Art of Highland Park, 2009–2020

Elsewhere