Lead the Plant Microbe Interactions team at Joyn Bio and continued doing so after the merger into Ginkgo Bioworks. • Oversaw the implementation of the in planta assays to screen for chassis microbes at and the scale up (5X) of the molecular detection platform for microbial chassis in greenhouse and field trial samples through automation of the workflows and improvements in data management and analytics. These resulted in the discovery of 2 pre-commercial lead chassis. • Supervised the development of proof of concept for biomarker assay development to screen for in planta beneficial effects of engineered microbes.Founding team member at Indigo Ag - employee # 3Responsible for:• Establishing first labs space, implementing first year field trials and designing and implementing experiments to support initial patent applications - proof of concept and demonstration of viability of the technology, securing early investment• Authoring of >10 families of patents, patent applications and invention disclosures• Implementing methods to determine compatibility of strains with seed chemistries• Establishing pipeline for identification of microbial strains by molecular phylogenetics and supporting regulatory strategy for product registration• Implementing early methods and strategy for detection microbial plant colonization• Leading implementation of Advanced Candidate Election; computational method based on genomic features for selecting product candidates entering the pipeline (Stage 1)• Leading initial campaigns of primary screening based on in vitro assays and seedling vigor (Stage 2)• Managing the Microbial Science Resources team, composed of 3 PhD/Postdoc level Scientists, 1 MSc Research Associate (RA), 1BSc RA and 1 co-op student• Leading design and implementation of novel technologies for entire R&D, resulting in delivery of partnership strategy and new pipeline for nutrient use efficiency products