Countless paths lead to KAUST. For Dr. Kyle Lauersen, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, his journey began with the discipline of karate. Growing up in Ontario, Canada, Lauersen developed his skills in this martial art — a practice that instilled focus, perseverance and courage, now central to his work as a researcher and educator. 

“The lessons and public-speaking confidence I gained as a martial arts instructor came together so that when I did scientific presentations, I was relatively comfortable and confident in my abilities, which helps because this is a key part of the career,” he said, adding that a scientist’s role is not only to investigate and experiment, but also to educate, communicate and acquire new abilities. “The physical act of research is an educational endeavor. We constantly learn and grow.” 

In part thanks to his early experience as a karate student and later teacher, Lauersen was accepted out of high school to Queen’s University in Kingston for its Concurrent Education program — a five-year curriculum enabling him to obtain bachelor’s degrees in both science and education. It also afforded him unique field research opportunities, including one summer of paleolimnology in Eastern Canada, one of ecology work along the U.S. West Coast, and one summer managing trees in the greenhouse at Queen’s. 

“Through that experience, I got into the lab for my fourth-year undergraduate thesis project, which involved a lot of molecular biology and genetic engineering of trees. And I was hooked. Walking into that lab, there were little trees growing in plastic sterile boxes in a gelatin medium. It looked so space age and cool.” 

While still committed to completing his B.Ed. program, Lauersen increasingly realized his future would not be as a high school science teacher, but as a scientist. He embarked on a two-year master’s program working with genetically modified grasses (to prevent ice crystal growth), eventually leaving Queen’s after seven years with three degrees. 

In 2011, the Cluster of Industrial Biotechnology Graduate Cluster (CLIB-GC) invited him to pursue his Ph.D. at Universität Bielefeld in Germany, applying microalgal technology for industrial-scale applications. During this time, he discovered a novel process to recode algal genes for sustainable biotechnology. “I’d gone from trees, which are big, to grasses, which are smaller, to algae, which are single-celled plants.” 

His genetic engineering innovation then garnered Lauersen funding for five years as a postdoc in Germany, building on his scientific work but limiting his career advancement by staying put in the same university after his Ph.D. was completed for his postdoc. Fortunately, through intense global travels, collaborations and chance encounters, notably with KAUST researchers, he eventually found an opportunity to continue his algae research and establish himself as a professor and principal investigator — in Saudi Arabia. Then the world turned upside-down. 

“I moved here in August 2019, and COVID happened. I was at KAUST throughout the pandemic, which was safe, but also isolating and challenging. However, since I didn’t leave during the pandemic, I was first in line for construction of my lab when things started opening again. That was much to our benefit. We really got started in the lab in January 2021 and went on to publish our first paper in May 2022.” 

Sustainable and synthetic biotechnology 

Lauersen’s “Sustainable & Synthetic Biotechnology” laboratory at KAUST focuses on utilizing nontraditional carbon sources such as CO2 and industrial waste to drive biotechnology. Specializing in algal processes powered by photosynthesis, the lab transforms waste carbon, nutrients and food byproducts into valuable biochemicals in algal biomass, including proteins, lipids and pigments, advancing sustainable solutions beyond sugar-based microbial fermentations. 

“We take specialty chemical pathways from plants — where a plant might make a certain medicine or a scent for perfume — and ‘drop’ those into algae. Now you’re not only turning waste into proteins, carbs and lipids; you’re also creating medicines and perfumes — items that have higher economic value.” 

Since 2022, the lab also has built a library of more than 120 algae strains collected across the Kingdom, using advanced photobioreactors to identify the optimal growth conditions for each strain. Specializing in synthetic biology, Lauersen’s research team designs customized DNAs to engineer algae capable of producing high-value biochemicals that support sustainable applications by converting waste into tailored products. 

“That’s the other area of work we do — process design and how we culture the algae in certain ways and build systems to extract these products.” 

A distinguished teacher 

In November 2024, Lauersen received the KAUST Distinguished Teaching Award for his innovative approach to bioengineering education, mentorship and dedication to student success. He credits his background in martial arts and professional training as a high school teacher for his unique appreciation for the holistic transfer of knowledge through auditory, visual and kinesthetic communication. “Whatever you teach, it’s best come up with three ways to say it.” 

The bioengineering program was newly formed when Lauersen joined KAUST, he noted, and there was no lab course for the introductory class. As a new PI, Lauersen took on the challenge of creating a combined lecture and lab course with a central theme. He coordinated with other professors, ensuring that the course featured dynamic lectures with multimedia materials for a more engaging learning experience. 

Due to COVID-19 and quarantine disruptions at the time, Lauersen facilitated instructional videos for lab courses, which proved to be valuable additions. Now, every lab session course integrates both in-person and video components. He also invites industry guests for lectures to illustrate biotech careers, and he supports soft-skills training for students. “Those overlapping modes of bringing the information to the students is what I’ve tried to instill.” 

What the future holds 

Everything his laboratory does fits within the sustainable environment and supply of essential needs pillar of the Kingdom’s Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) priorities, Lauersen said, adding that he remains invested in KAUST and a national ecosystem that champions creativity and innovation. “With a bit of elbow grease, we can accomplish so much here in ways not possible elsewhere due to various economic and environmental differences.” 

Looking ahead, he envisions his lab further contributing to algal solutions for sustainability challenges, creating products that turn waste materials into valuable commodities — including relatively untapped research areas such as utilizing methane, food wastes and wastewaters as potential feedstocks. “There are aspects of human society and industrial processes we just give away, calling them ‘waste.’ We have a chance to capture a good portion of their value with algal technologies.” 

The commercialization opportunities for algal specialty chemicals and applications are enormous, he noted, thanks to KAUST’s funding and vision — a foundation as essential as is discipline and precision in karate, and science. “We probably have the best algal biotechnology infrastructure worldwide — our little lab — because of KAUST support.”