Joey J. Gardner

I have a B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering, the latter of which I completed under the advisement of Dr. Nanette R. Boyle at Colorado School of Mines. We used agent-based modeling and flux balance analysis (code acting like individuals + figuring out the fastest route to grow in metabolism) to interrogate Trichodesmium erythraeum's colony forming behavior and capacity to fix nitrogen and CO$_2$ simultaneously during the day.

Since then, I've been involved in engineering to optimize nitrogen fixation for industrial ag, finding drug targets for autoimmune disorders using metabolism-centric approaches, untargeted metabolomics, microbiome research, and software for science research.

I write about all sorts of things but I'm most opinionated on software-assisted biological research including building interactable, rich visualizations, organizing disparate data across ontologies, and the pros and cons of LLMs in assisting development. My research focuses on network approaches in multivariate, multiobjective contexts. I really like discussing teaching as well as mentorship and management of technical people. Lastly, no product is complete without a marketing strategy, so it's important to me to find the right product-market fit so good science doesn't die on the vine.

In my other life, I'm trying to build a non-profit to provide fresh produce for at-risk communities in Boston in a way that actually saves the city money. Right now, we see a ton of food gone to waste and a lot of people hungry; it's our goal to treat food as a human right and receiving it is natural and dignified. We focus mostly on the logistics of sourcing food that would go to waste and distributing it in places where food deserts exist. We save on disposal costs, we feed the hungry, and less food goes to waste. Triple threat. The organization is called the Fresh Start Food Network.

I've volunteered for a long time - it's a tradition that my grandma, mom, dad, and sister instilled in me - and grew up on a ranch with ~12-16 horses. We used to operate something called Aspen Hollow Young Ranchers, which sought to give an alternative therapeutic environment for underserved communities like adolescents in residential treatment and folks with PTSD. They got to interact with horses (theory being that they're prey animals but also massive, so good for folks to figure out their own emotions).

I'm also part of the wild underworld of youtube-influenced DIY, active at a book club, tend towards camping/hiking/outdoorsy things, and I like all sorts of nerdy/horror things (except video games... strangely). I'll write about my house/interior design, books and my diverse opinions, and the excursions I go on. I have another site where I post other things I write.