Sometimes, you just need a piece of chocolate.

But when Jerry Huang ’25 learned that the chocolate industry is built on unethical, unsustainable practices that force nearly 1.6 million children into child labor and that have caused up to 70% of the Côte d’Ivoire’s deforestation, he knew a solution was needed.

As part of the Baltimore BioCrew iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team, which is stationed in a community lab called BUGSS (Baltimore Underground Science Space), Huang helped produce a sustainable chocolate alternative using genetically engineered bacteria. “We turned to synthetic biology in order to produce many of chocolate’s flavor compounds inside of Lactococcus lactis (a strain of bacteria) by overexpressing certain enzymes,” he said. (For more details behind the exact science of this process, read Huang’s explanation.)

In October of 2024, Huang and his team participated in the iGEM Grand Jamboree, an expo on synthetic biology held in Paris where all students showcase their work, and took home the bronze medal. “This was a really eye-opening experience,” said Huang. “Not only did it expose me to the field of bioengineering — the field that I intend on pursuing in the near future — but it also gave me an idea of what it was like to be a research scientist. I had worked in labs in the past, but never with the independence to essentially lead the project from the start to finish.”

Despite spending long nights in the lab, Huang appreciated the experience working on a project about which he was “truly passionate.” He said he could not have done it without the support of his teammates, his mentors, his parents, and the science teachers at Gilman “who piqued my curiosity.”

Huang is headed to the California Institute of Technology in the fall where he will study bioengineering, a field that he notes is “extremely relevant to this iGEM project!”