Chris is sowing the seeds for a plentiful future by building deep tech companies solving sustainability challenges. The initial technical insight leading to GigaCrop's photosynthesis mission was drawn from Chris's strong science background. Chris earned his Ph.D. in Bioengineering at UC Berkeley, focusing on synthetic metabolism and protein engineering in Jay Keasling's lab. He has published his academic work in peer reviewed journals including Nature Biotechnology, and ACS Synthetic Biology. Chris has also authored several patent applications for technology he has developed. To complement his science background, Chris pursued two years of entrepreneurial training via the prestigious Activate fellowship. Outside of company building, Chris loves music, working out, and offbeat cinema.

Juhan Kim, Ph.D. is a molecular biologist and enzyme engineer with extensive experience in enzyme discovery, genome engineering, and synthetic biology. His work spans CRISPR-based genome editing, directed enzyme evolution, and high-throughput assay development, with contributions to novel enzyme identification and protein engineering. He has conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Colorado Boulder, focusing on enzyme promiscuity and enzymology. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University and has contributed extensively to the field through publications and patents.

Shawn Carlson is Head of Plant Transformation at GigaCrop and a Co-Founder of BloomMD. She brings over two decades of experience in agricultural biotechnology, spanning both industry and academic research. Prior to GigaCrop, Shawn held senior leadership roles at Chromatin, Inc., where she served as Director of Crop Genetics and Senior Project Leader, leading corn trait development programs from early research through deployment. Earlier in her career, she worked at Mycogen and DeKalb Genetics, and spent several years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a Senior Research Specialist. Shawn combines deep hands-on laboratory expertise with a strong track record of leading cross-functional teams and collaborating across the agricultural innovation ecosystem.

Michael is passionate about doing cool science. He has a background in microbiology and protein engineering. Michael earned a B.S. in microbiology from Penn State and a Ph.D. in microbiology from UW-Madison. He worked on engineering protein transcription factors during a postdoctoral appointment at CalTech, and then worked on biofuels research at the Joint Bioenergy Institute. Prior to joining GigaCrop, he spent several years applying synthetic biology tools to problems in advanced life support technologies in the Bioengineering Branch at the NASA Ames Research Center. Michael was also able to send a microbiology experiment to the International Space Station during his time at NASA.

Azalea brings deep experience in biochemistry, molecular biology, and protein engineering. Her work spans antibody discovery, enzyme and protein optimization, assay development, and high-throughput screening across biotech, agricultural, and industrial research environments. Prior to joining GigaCrop, Azalea served as a Senior Scientist at ArsenalBio, where she contributed to scientific research and development programs. Before that, she led antibody discovery efforts and supported protein engineering initiatives at Anwita Biosciences. She spent more than a decade at DuPont Pioneer as a Senior Research Associate. Earlier in her career, Azalea held research roles at Verdia Inc. and Maxygen, working on enzyme engineering. She holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Davis.