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Ohmic Biosciences

Summer 2023 · Active

Genetically engineering plants for disease resistance.

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Location: Alameda, CA, US

Founded: 2021

Team size: 2

Industries:

About

Pests and pathogens cost the world hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Existing technologies like agrochemicals are no longer working. Ohmic Biosciences uses protein engineering to design resistance genes for crops that are robust to pathogen evolution.

Founders

  • PJ SteinerFounder

    I'm a protein engineer, synthetic biologist, and computer scientist. I studied computer science at MIT (SB/MEng) and then synthetic biology at Cambridge (PhD) and UCSD (postdoc). After two years as a scientist at Bolt Threads engineering yeast for protein production, I moved to the University of Colorado Boulder to work on a DARPA project using protein engineering to turn plants into chemical biosensors. My co-founder Matt and I founded Ohmic to make plants resistant to disease.

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  • Matthew BedewitzFounder

    I'm a plant biochemist with experience in protein engineering, genetics and analytical chemistry. I studied Horticulture Science (BS), and then Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PhD) at Michigan State where I characterized enzymes in tropane alkaloid production for nerve agent antidotes and stimulants (including cocaine). That work led me to a DARPA protein engineering project where I met my cofounder, PJ, and we decided to use our skills to tackle crop disease resistance.

    LinkedIn