LJ Soto
LJ Soto graduated from Boston College with a B.S. in Neuroscience completing the pre-med track in Spring of 2026. As an undergraduate he interned with Johnson & Johnson in the Immunology late stage clinical science department focusing on adverse effects of Tremfya used to treat Ulcerative Colitis. Specifically working on the ASTRO study which brought the first subcutaneous injection of an IL-23 to market.
As a senior he joined the Alm lab at MIT in 2025 under the mentorship of Dr. Jason Zhang, whom he continued to work after graduating. His work focuses on microbial genetics related to the human gut microbiome. Specifically investigating genetic modifications to uncover the genetic to phenotypic connection of endogenous GLP-1 modulation observed from Blautia wexlerae. Looking ahead, LJ plans to work on upregulating these effects while pursuing his interests in synthetic biology, computational biology, and microbial engineering.