10,000 years in and we’ve barely scratched the surface of what plants could do for us. In particular, I’m excited about the potential of molecular farming (the production of valuable molecules from genetically modified plants) and other emerging plant bioengineering technologies. I’m currently creating watermelons that produce the natural sweetener from monk fruit and bananas resistant to TR4 at Elo Life Systems. Background:15+ years developing novel biotech solutions: genetic and metabolic engineering, gene editing, molecular farming, microbiology, cell-based assays, phenotyping, ecology and data science10+ years building R&D teams, labs and products:Facilities build out and operations, tech scouting, business development, project management and product development Media coverage:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-11-27/world-s-banana-supply-under-threat-from-fusarium-fungushttps://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/banana-fungus-cure-north-carolina/https://www.wunc.org/2024-04-18/the-broadside-transcript-can-we-save-the-banana-from-extinctionhttps://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article285098907.htmlhttps://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article272928450.html