This page is over construction, as in I'm over constructing it. Last updated October 2025.
I'm a fifth-year PhD Candidate in Molecular Engineering at the University of Washington, and
I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, so if you have a cool opportunity, please let me know!
Quick Links!
CV (PDF),
LinkedIn,
Google Scholar,
GitHub,
Website (you're on it!)
I'm a fifth-year Molecular Engineering PhD Candidate in
the Seelig Lab at the University of Washington,
where I'm engineering synthetic CRISPR-based gene circuits in mammalian cells
and working on optimizing scRNA-seq for high-throughput screens in E. coli. I'm a synthetic biologist, and
my research interests lie in biocomputing and using weird endogenous biological systems for novel purposes.
I graduated with a BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and an MS in Biology from UC San Diego, where
I worked in the the Hasty Lab.
Here, I built a toolkit of five inducible promoters for budding yeast.
Publications are on my Google Scholar!
I'm a self-taught programmer focusing mainly on building web apps, weird tools, and bad games.
I'm very comfortable with Python (Flask) and JavaScript for web development.
I have a decent amount of experience with web development and cloud deployment technologies
(Docker, AWS, DigitalOcean, MongoDB, nginx, etc), but I never have fun using them.
I'm also comfortable with Python, R, and MatLab for data analysis, scientific computing, and machine learning,
but that's mainly for research. I'm currently grappling with Godot as I try to actually build a real video game!
Easy Gene DB is a custom gene database that I built from scratch
and manually deployed on because every other gene database had too many features,
and it was hard to find the things I really needed (transcripts and CDSs).
Wiki Wall Street is the stock market game
for Wikipedia articles, where you play by buying and selling articles based on their page views.
BeTeal is a
Python tool to reorganize your BeReal recap from the least teal to most teal frames, although
I don't think anyone other than me even uses BeReal anymore...
More code projects on my GitHub!
I make machines. Software-wise I'm proficient with Fusion360 for 3D printing, KiCAD for PCB design,
and C++ for Arduino programming. Overall, I have limited experience with mechanical design,
but I'm always learning new things!
A machine that mixes skim milk and heavy cream
to make milks and creams of varying fat content. It consists of a
couple of relay-controlled peristaltic pumps and an Arduino in a 3D printed shell.
A machine to let you reach the top of your phone screen
without using both hands. It's just a stepper motor in a weird 3D printed phone case.
A machine that lets you know when your Jello is set.
I hypothesized that Jello's electrical resistance increases as it sets. It turns out this is kind of
true with a bunch of caveats, but it's a reliable enough phenomenon to tell when Jello is set!
More machines also on my GitHub!
A tomato soup ice cream on a grilled cheese waffle cone
A milkless room-temperature stable milkshake made with potatoes
A meal where each dish is encased in mini pies
I mainly write creative non-fiction. I have a blog called Quoc Thoughts, where I write "investigative" pieces and essays about inane and unimportant things, like the Dave Directory and plumbing codes.
Over the summer, I got into woodworking. I built a shelf/cabinet. I mainly work on the patio outside my apartment complex, so there's probably not much more woodworking to come in the Seattle fall!
I love to read. Mainly, I read contemporary/literary fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy, but I'll read anything!
(StoryGraph | Goodreads)
I play a lot of board games. I'm a fan of big, thematic games with area control and/or negotiation,
but I also love small, weird games with unique mechanics (so sort of any game...).
(BoardGameGeek)
I hosted the Quoc Dines at Casual Chain Restaurants: Seattle Area Tour, where I went to places like
Applebees, Olive Garden, and the Cheesecake Factory for the first time.
I follow Formula 1 and I also sim race (I'm very bad).
I've also been trying to learn to ski.
