Written by Elodie Kadjo
Stephanie Jones is a Lead scientist in the enzymology team at LanzaTech. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Stephanie has always been fascinated by science and technology. As a child, she was an avid reader of science fiction. The stories she read instilled in her optimism that technology could help make the world better. Stephanie’s love for science prompted her to study chemistry after high school.
As an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina, Stephanie had the opportunity to experience the day-to-day life of a scientist and connect with other scientists while working on self-assembled monolayers for stem cell differentiation. She enjoyed working on open-ended questions that were different from what was taught in the classroom. Encouraged by her advisors, Dr. Yousaf and Dr. Thorp, to explore many scientific fields, Stephanie moved to the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge, she worked on polymer biomaterials and obtained a master’s degree of philosophy.
Stephanie then went on to do a Ph.D. at UC Berkley in magnetite biomineralization. “Building on my undergraduate and master’s degree, I decided to study how bacteria themselves were making materials,” she explains. Graduate school was an overwhelming experience for her, but it also allowed her to learn more about herself, her weaknesses, and her strengths. “I questioned my life and what I wanted to do with it. I did not think I would be working at a bench 15 years from then,” she reflects.
After graduation, Stephanie took a Postdoctoral position in a microbial water remediation laboratory working with anaerobic microbes at UC Berkley. Around the same time, she began consulting for Industrial Microbes, Inc. These two positions required a lot of time but also helped her overcome her imposter syndrome. “I was able to use my experience working with proteins while consulting for Industrial Microbes and use transferable skills from my chemistry and material science studies in my postdoctoral position,” she explains. “Those two positions increased my confidence and made me realize that science can be a creative endeavor.”
As a result of her strengthened confidence, Stephanie enjoyed her work even more and took a full-time position with Industrial Microbes. There, she worked on one of the highlights of her career: the successful heterologous expression of methane monooxygenase in E. coli and yeast. “It’s a great opportunity to work in industry because many people are involved in a project, and you get to learn from their perspective,” she says. “You get creative on solutions because of the short timeline and monetary constraints.”
In 2019, Stephanie moved to Chicago to be closer to her spouse. After several months of unemployment, she landed a position at a carbon utilization company, LanzaTech, as a scientist in the enzymology team. “LanzaTech is a great place to work,” she says. “I got hired 7 months pregnant and they worked with me on a flexible start plan so I could bond with my child. When the pandemic started a few months later, the company emphasized the well-being of their employees.”
Stephanie credits her success to both her scientific expertise and her communication skills. One of her favorite books is “How to Have a Good Day” by Caroline Webb. “It’s a great guide to communication,” she says. “It taught me that how you say something matters as much as what you say.”
After giving birth to her second child, Stephanie hopes to inspire other women that it is possible to make good decisions for both their career and their family. When asked how to balance work and life, she shares a story based on quotes from Brian Dyson and Nora Roberts: “Work-life balance is like juggling glass and rubber balls in the air,” she says. “Each task or obligation is a ball. Rubber balls can bounce back when dropped, but glass balls break. The key to success is making sure you catch the glass balls.” Stephanie also mentions that she has had good mentors throughout her career who have helped her make good decisions for her personal and professional development.
Outside of her work, Stephanie plays video games, soccer, reads science fiction, and enjoys the development of her son as he picks up his own hobbies.
Her advice for other women that want to follow her steps is to develop their communication skills, not to neglect their personal life because of their work and vice versa, and to use unemployment as an opportunity to learn new skills.
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