Expert Details
Food Technology, Biotechnology, Biochemicals & Biofuels
ID: 739516
Colorado, USA
By virtue of her experience as a member of public international companies such as Kerry Ingredients (KRYAY), and small cap companies such as Intrexon (PGEN), she is well-suited to grow start-ups spanning all stages through pre-IPO. Expert was an integral leader in one of the fastest growing divisions at Kerry, clean-label food preservatives, where she learned first-hand the economics of large-scale manufacturing operations and the importance of driving supply chain excellence.
She brings financial planning to all aspects of start-up strategy to ensure adequate runway for subsequent financing rounds. She drives top line growth through collaborative development with full-scale B2B partners. In her role at Geltor, she advanced discussions with top-tier global cosmetics CPG manufacturers and distributors by presenting a clear Regulatory strategy and progress toward entering international markets for cosmetics under the new China NMPA regulations.
Expert is particularly adept at organizational turnarounds, guiding struggling teams to pivot away from a research-centric mentality toward a market- and customer problem-focused plan. At Intrexon, she was ultimately responsible for reorganizing the engineering and biotechnology program and team which was converting methane gas into higher value hydrocarbon products via a highly complex gas-to-liquid fermentation technology. The team was on track for its new technical milestones within 3 months, while Expert simultaneously partnered with the interim CEO to secure an acquisition or partnership for the technology.
When not working towards more humane and sustainable alternatives to petroleum or industrial animal agriculture, you can find Expert at her off-grid homestead, in the high mountains above the North Fork Valley of western Colorado.
Areas of Expertise include: Product Innovation & Formulation, CPG Application Testing, COGS & Process Improvement, Food Science, Safety and Quality, Regulatory Strategy, Claims Substantiation, Program Management, External Partnership Management, and Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1998 | Degree: PhD | Subject: Molecular Biology | Institution: University of Oregon |
| Year: 1983 | Degree: BS | Subject: Medical Technology | Institution: University of New Hampshire |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2020 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Founder & CEO | Department: Food Technology & Biotechnology |
Responsibilities:Consulting services for startup companies and venture investors in the emerging food-tech and biotech industries. Expertise in fermentation-based technologies for sustainable alternatives to animal- and petroleum-derived products. Technical roadmap and business development support, Regulatory Affairs - GRAS dossier preparation, cross-functional alignment of in-house teams and external collaborations. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2020 to 2022 | Employer: Geltor | Title: Vice President, Commercial Development and Regulatory Affairs | Department: |
Responsibilities:Biotechnology company. Led product development of high impact protein ingredients for Food & Nutrition and Beauty & Personal Care markets. Fully accountable for the success of:- Ingredient claims substantiation via a combination of in-vitro, ex-vivo and clinical trials. - Regulatory approval for a novel food ingredient. Successfully completed a GRAS self-assessment and an enhanced dossier for FDA GRAS, including a human pharmacokinetic study. - Regulatory plan enabling import of Geltor cosmetic ingredients into China under new NMPA regulations. - Formulation in CPG applications and development of finished food and cosmetic product prototypes. Combined in-house expertise with external contract research to develop prototypes for marketing and business development. - Business Development support in partnership with General Managers for Food/Nutrition and Personal Care business units. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2019 to 2020 | Employer: MBP Titan (Subsidiary of Intrexon, Corp.) | Title: Vice President, Research & Development | Department: Industrial Products Division |
Responsibilities:Biotechnology company. Led a team of 100+ scientists and engineers. Gas-to-liquid fermentation technology produced animal feed protein and chemistry polymer precursors from methane and engineered methanotroph bacteria.- Transitioned of the organization from a research-oriented culture to a commercial team with clearly defined timelines, commercial milestones and budgets. Integrated workflows across all functions to demonstrate a technically viable manufacturing process at 500 liter pilot scale in house. - Led a matrix organization comprised of data science & computational biology, strain engineering, molecular biology & bioinformatics, analytical chemistry, robotics and high throughput screening, fermentation and process engineering. - Ensured FTO for commercial process in collaboration with Legal counsel. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2017 to 2019 | Employer: Kerry Ingredients | Title: Director, Product Research, Development & Applications | Department: Clean Label Food Preservative & Fermentation |
Responsibilities:Global food ingredient company. Strategic leadership of Clean Label Food Preservative & Fermentation team.- Developed ingredients replacing chemical food preservatives while protecting consumers from pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and C. botulinum. Formulation applications included meat, dairy, breads, ready-meals, cheeses, sauces and beverages, each with specific processing, organoleptic and food safety requirements. - Managed product stability testing, preliminary specification setting and refinement across multiple manufacturing locations and processes. Coordinated food safety trials in LATAM, Europe and Asia with regional-specific applications. - Delivered improvements in manufacturing processes through use of techno-economic models to identify key process cost drivers. COGS analysis with Finance to drive toward desired margin. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2010 to 2016 | Employer: Synthetic Genomics | Title: Director - Nutritional Product Development | Department: |
Responsibilities:Synthetic biology biotechnology company. Led development of nutritional protein and oil ingredients from heterotrophic algae.- Converted research laboratory facility to cGMP pilot manufacturing facility to support preparation of customer samples that were safe for consumptive evaluation. - As part of comprehensive plan to achieve FDA GRAS status for the novel ingredient, demonstrated successful Acute Toxicology safety testing. Full plan through sub-chronic rat studies developed. - Achieved economic targets and quality metrics competitive with soy protein benchmark product and demonstrated reproducible process within specification in 3 different pilot scale facilities. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2010 to 2014 | Employer: Synthetic Genomics | Title: Principal Scientist | Department: |
Responsibilities:Synthetic biology biotechnology company. Developed a competitive manufacturing process for omega-3 DHA within 2 years from concept to commercial licensing to Archer Daniels Midland.- Established work plan and milestones for program with $8M budget and 10 direct and 12 indirect reports. - Achieved estimated 25-30% reduction in COGS compared to market incumbent based on pilot studies. - Synchronized measurement of milestones across organizations to trigger milestone payments from ADM to SGI. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2003 to 2010 | Employer: Kuehnle Agrosystems, LLC | Title: Head of Research & Development | Department: |
Responsibilities:Private algae biotechnology company. Developed novel genetic tools for marine algae biotechnology. Products included nutritional ingredients and vaccine antigens for point-of-care medical testing. |
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Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Member - Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) Member - American Society for Quality Member - Institute of Food Technologists |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| Certified Food Scientist (Institute of Food Technologists) Certified Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) |
Fields of Expertise
fermentation technology, fermentation scale-up, food preservatives, synthetic biology, regulatory affairs, FDA GRAS, product claims substantiation, nutritional ingredients, nutritional protein, nutritional oil, food science, ingredient, food ingredient, ingredient commercialization, program management, product innovation, product formulation, regulatory strategy