Whoooaaaa... My name is Alexander Ryan Smith, but you can just call me Alex. I was born and raised in the most beautiful city in the world, San Francisco. I am of filipino and caucasian descent and I am proud of both of my heritages. I've always been interested in science because it enables me to take advantage of my inherent need to question the unknown. My favorite activities include reading, exercising, learning about new cultures, traveling, listening to music, watching movies and television, and most recently learning about synthetic biology and applying its concepts in the laboratory.