Author: Fatma Kaplan

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Hard-working beneficial nematodes are finally on their way to the International Space Station

 

 

(CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.) December 8, 2019 — SpaceX made an early holiday delivery to the International Space Station on Sunday, bringing muscle-bound “mighty mice,” pest-killing worms and a smart, empathetic robot.

‘ There also are 120,000 roundworms, or nematodes of a beneficial variety, Keep reading

ISS BLOG 360: December 10, 2019 By Anne Wainscott-Sargent

Experiments Hope to Bolster Nematodes’ Killer Instincts to Protect Crops

 

Being a scientist, I often have to convince people that I am the right CEO for Pheronym, an ag-biotech startup.

Frequently I hear, “You would make a great CSO.” I know I would be a great CSO, but I am the only one who can be Pheronym’s CEO.

Let’s start with “What does a startup CEO do?” Everyone knows that the CEO is the person in charge, but what does that mean for a small startup? Startup CEO’s can play very different roles depending on the type, stage, and founding team. For example, digital healthcare, digital agriculture, biotechnology, consumer-facing and B2B startups all have different needs. Furthermore, a startup is expected to create something visionary that will transform the industry or create some new and novel technology. So the startup needs a CEO with a vision.

It’s always been my belief I had the vision required. In 2005, when I accepted the position to identify the model nematode’s (Caenorhabditis elegans) sex pheromone, I knew how these discoveries could revolutionize agricultural pest control for nematodes. Keep reading

The hardest thing I have to do is to describe my role as Pheronym’s COO, which is crucial to our product development.

What does a startup COO do? If you search Google for a COO’s role and job description, it says the COO is the second in command and runs the operations. Even though this is a very clear role for big companies, it is not so clear in a startup. Keep reading

Based on the quality, the Medium curators selected this article to be recommended to readers interested in Work and Startups.

Second Peer-Reviewed Study to Show Significant Efficacy in Company’s Patented Bio-remediation Technology

DAVIS, CA, UNITED STATES, Nov 12, 2019 — Pheronym, an ag-biotech pest control company, announced today the results of a second peer-reviewed study demonstrating the efficacy of their patented Nemastim™ pheromone extract for bio-remediation of agricultural pests.  In a joint study with the USDA and the University of Idaho, nematodes treated with pheromone extracts increased their effectiveness in invading host insects in soil by 300 percent.  Additionally, the nematodes improved their rate of attack within four hours of treatment.

The research, led by Dr. David Shapiro-Ilan with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory, focused on the citrus root weevil, which attacks 270 different plant species including citrus, sugarcane, vegetables, potatoes, strawberries, woody field-grown ornamentals, sweet potatoes, papaya, guava, mahogany and containerized ornamentals.  Previous research from the USDA and the University of Idaho focused on the pecan weevil, showing improvements of up to 78 percent in the effectiveness of nematodes attacking their prey. The nematodes treated with pheromone extracts were found to disperse more than non-treated nematodes. In this current study, the investigators discovered that the same pheromones that increased beneficial nematode dispersal also increased infection (invasion into the host insect pest). Keep Reading

Look for the article in the Journal of Nematology, coming soon!

It is featured at KLKN ABC Lincoln, Dominican Republic Post, South America Business News. 

 

How a marketing advisor helped transform our company!

“I became a scientist and researcher because it was my passion — why would I ever need marketing?”

I would soon realize that the best ideas don’t always win, but the best marketing does. The realization hit me hard when attending a marketing panel shortly after I started the IndieBio accelerator in San Francisco. Before 2017, my technology development training at the University of Florida (UF) prepared me to use the scientific tools to develop a technology from the laboratory to the field. However, business development, commercialization, and marketing were totally new and scary territory for me. So, I decided to deal with the new business territory, one piece at a time, starting with marketing.

That’s when I met Neil Cohen, the moderator of the aforementioned panel. As I listened and tried to learn, I realized I had no idea how to use the marketing tools espoused by the panel to turn Pheronym, Inc. into a viable business. Luckily, Neil had free office hours which I immediately signed up for it at IndieBio. He gave us specific advice on how to use effectively social media to our advantage. We also learned that Neil was a fellow Gator, and graduate of our Journalism school in PR. Wow! Keep reading

We thank Tim Hammerich for preparing this amazing podcast for AstroNematode project.

Interview with Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Cameron Schiller, founders of Pheronym, which is an agricultural biotech company that provides safe, non-toxic, and innovative solutions to solve numerous agricultural problems. They also recently received funding for the development of space nematodes under the project AstroNematode. AstroNematode is interstellar agriculture for Earth and a small step for a nematode but a giant step for agriculture in space. The first agriculture biocontrol experiment will launch on December 4, 2019, and provide data to pave the way for sustainable agriculture on and outside of Earth.

• How the project got started and where they found funding.

• The best qualities of the project and what it can provide data scientists.

• Their contingencies when the project doesn’t work as planned.

• The kind of animals NASA plans to take to Mars.

• Why they think nematodes can survive and reproduce in space.

• The upcoming launch and how the nematodes will be packaged.

• Making sure the experiments are running smoothly while they remain on Earth.

• How they manage to run a startup and the nematode project at the same time.

Listen to podcast

Pheronym is honored to be among the 16 companies selected to present at the Florida Aerospace Capital Forum on November 6, 2019, in Lake Nona, Orlando.

To support long term space exploration, we need to develop agricultural technologies. Pheronym is doing just that and the only Food and Agribusiness company and also among the 4 companies selected from outside Florida to present at the Florida Aerospace Forum.

Karl Cameron Schiller, co-founder of Pheronym, will present our technology using nematode pheromones to control agricultural pests for sustainable eco-friendly solutions in Lake Nona. For space explorations,  non-toxic pest control solutions become even more important due to limited air in space.  Pheronym is sending good nematodes, microscopic roundworms, to International Space Station on December 4, on SpaceX CRS19. This is also the first agriculture biocontrol experiment in Space. To learn more about Pheronym’s mission on Earth and beyond, stop by and talk to him.