Jay was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He attended Princeton University and received his bachelor's degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering with minors in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. As an undergraduate, he worked in Prof. Michael Webb's group where he researched phase separation in biomolecular condensates using machine learning and molecular dynamics simulations. Upon graduation, Jay joined the PME in 2023 to pursue his PhD in Molecular Engineering under the supervision of Prof. Juan de Pablo and Prof. Rebecca Willet.
![jay_kaplan](/sites/default/files/styles/large_black_and_white/public/2024-07/jay_kaplan.png?h=495396dc&itok=HldzXMne)