Alekhya Govindaraju, PhD

Alekhya Govindaraju, PhD, is a BioMethane Removal Scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, where she applies her expertise in microbial one-carbon metabolism to assess the viability of biological approaches for removing atmospheric methane. Her work draws on diverse research across microbial physiology, including mixed-substrate metabolic pathway allocation, transformation of lignin-derived compounds via methylotrophy, and characterization of rare earth element cofactors in microbial metabolisms.

Prior to joining Spark, Alekhya was a Biotechnology Regulatory Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, where she developed data governance frameworks for engineered microorganisms intended for environmental release. She has also worked to translate scientific research into climate impact through a Nucleate Venture Capital Fellowship in climate biotechnology and an internship at a rare earth element biomining startup, RareTerra. Alekhya holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from UC Berkeley.