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About Us

Putting science to good use

Our work at Berkeley Yeast is focused on a humble organism: yeast. As scientists, we see enormous potential in these controllable, reliable, and easily scalable biofactories. We unlock this potential by bioengineering yeast strains that can transform the way we make fermented foods and beverages at commercial scale in surprising and beneficial ways wherever fermentation is used.

Today, we develop new strains for brewers and winemakers. But the potential of our technology goes beyond these industries. Fermentation is—and has been for thousands of years—responsible for much of what we consume around the world, from regional specialties to staples used by billions of people daily. This includes beer and wine, but also bread, cheese, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, kombucha, miso, chocolate, and others. The list is long and reveals a broad and exciting horizon.

Science that’s good for the planet.

Science that’s good for people.

At its best, science is propelled by natural curiosity: wondering at the falling of an apple or the blinking of a point of light in the night sky. The application of scientific discoveries, however, has a mixed history. New discoveries can be leveraged to achieve incredible benefits, but if used irresponsibly, can cause harm. Which is why, at Berkeley Yeast, we have an unwavering commitment to ensuring that our work benefits the planet and people. This is sometimes overt: developing a strain that reduces the use of resource-intensive crops. And sometimes it is subtle: making it easier for brewers to achieve a popular but difficult-to-achieve flavor profile.

Science by scientists who care.

Our team is composed of individuals with a rare composition of qualities: A keen intellect and an irrepressible curiosity are important, but just as essential is the desire to have our work benefit the world around us. Our team is composed of passionate beer enthusiasts who care about nuances of the brewing process, climbers of Half Dome and El Capitan who care about the rising number of wildfires, parents of newborns who care about protecting the future of our food sources. Together, we put science to good use.

Leadership Team

Berkeley Yeast Nick Harris Microbial Biology
NICK HARRIS, PHD
Co-founder
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Berkeley Yeast Charles Denby Molecular Cell Biology
CHARLES DENBY, PHD
Co-founder
CEO
Berkeley Yeast Rachel Li Microbial Biology
RACHEL Li, PhD
Co-founder
R&D, Operations
Berkeley Yeast Jeremy Roop PhD in Microbial-Biology
JEREMY ROOP, PHD
R&D, strategy
Berkeley Yeast Dan Liu Chemical Biology
DANIEL LIU, PHD
R&D, Technology

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