Rick Wierenga
I am currently a programmer at Retro Bio where I lead the development of PyLabRobot.
PyLabRobot is an open source, hardware agnostic Python interface to lab automation machines.
It allows people to program and share biological and chemical wet lab experiments in Python.
In many cases, it can replace vendor software, improving reliability and providing more flexibility.
I started PyLabRobot as a visiting student at MIT in the Esvelt Lab.
Check out the PLR forum and documentation websites.
Also feel free to email me at <my first name> at pylabrobot.org.
Social media
Resume
Also see my linkedin page (linked above).
Experience
- Programmer Retro Biosciences (2024-Present)
- Visiting Student MIT (Spring semester, 2024)
- Visiting Student MIT (Summer, 2023)
- Visiting Student MIT (Summer, fall semester, 2022)
- Freelance Programmer (June 2020 - 2024)
Presentations
- Society for Lab Automation and Screening (SLAS) Poster presentation. Boston, MA, USA, 2026
- Lab Automation Meetup Lightning talk. South San Francisco, CA, USA, 2026
- LRIG South San Francisco, CA, USA, 2025
- Gesellschaft für Laborautomatisierung und Digitalisierung Online (Göttingen, Germany), 2025. recording
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology University of Cambridge, UK, 2025
- Constructive Bio Cambridge, UK, 2025
- Google X Mountain View, CA, USA, 2025
- Longevity Biotech Fellowship Berkeley, CA, USA, 2025
- Longevity Summit Poster presentation. Novato, CA, USA, 2024
- CphLAN Online (Copenhagen, Denmark), 2024
Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Bioinformatics and Artificial Intelligence Cum Laude, Leiden University, The Netherlands (2021-2024)
Publications
- PyLabRobot: An Open-Source, Hardware Agnostic Interface for Liquid-Handling Robots and Accessories Wierenga, R., Golas, S., Ho, W., Coley, C., & Esvelt, K. (2023). Device. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2023.100111
- Non-invasive ovulation tracking enables genetic engineering in wild rodents Joanna Buchthal, Emma J. Chory, Zachary Hill, Christy Dennison, Boqiang Tu, Rick P. Wierenga, Çağrı Çevrim, Stefan Golas, Gabriel Meier, Tammy C.T. Lan, Hattie Chung, Magalie Boucher, Sam R. Telford, Kara L. McKinley, Styliani Markoulaki, Rudolf Jaenisch, Kevin M. Esvelt (2026). Cell Reports Methods. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crmeth.2026.101311