About
Chemical and Biological Engineering undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley with a focus in biotechnology, followed by a PhD in the same at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with Prof. Jon Dordick (CBE) and Prof. Chris Bystroff (Biology) with a focus on computational protein engineering (ref). During PhD, was exposed to every part of the research process from in silico protein design, to strain design and engineering, strain build and testing, scale up for material generation, protein purification, as well as numerous analytical methods. Went on to the University of Colorado, Boulder and the lab of Prof. Ryan Gill where the focus was genomic scale library screening method development and testing (ref). Performed library screening assays and analysis including genomic library screening selection design, DNA gene chip analysis, strain re-generation, and analysis. Entered industry as a microbial strain engineer at Qteros, where the focus was Clostridial genetic toolbox development in support of ethanol production from C. phytofermentans grown on lignocellulosic biomass (ref). Trained on ClosTron at the University of Nottingham during a 2 week program. Transitioned to fermentation process development as a result of changing business needs, and have spent the following 15 years in positions of increasing levels of responsibility in the startup arena focused on bioprocess development. Most recent role at Robigo was at the VP level with responsibility for the operation of four functional teams as the head of R&D. Many years experience building and growing teams in the startup arena, including 8 novel-biotechnology startups. Experience scaling bioprocess-based technology both internally and at contract manufacturing sites up to 35,000L scale, including cost modeling, project management, and lab buildout. Passionate about people and teams, building a positive and engaging work culture, and executing on ambitious technical challenges with limited resources (startup life).
Joined
February 2025
