This year Pheronym hosted its second UC Davis AI Institute Fellow. We were delighted to see how third-year undergraduate student Willow Jungling, developed skills to be an independent scientist. Like many undergraduate students, Willow did not have the opportunity for hands-on laboratory training in the past three years due to COVID-19 shutdowns. This summer was Willow’s first laboratory experience.

We were impressed by Willow’s enthusiasm for learning. She improved her skills so fast. For example, within four weeks of the fellowship, she was able to plan and start her own experiments relevant to AI Institute goals with guidance and feedback from all of us.

We were glad that our experiences were mutual. Here is what Willow wrote about her experience. “1- I enjoyed being in a hands-on learning environment. Being able to watch somebody complete an experiment and then replicate it on your own is an amazing learning experience. 2- I enjoyed the independence. After training for a while, I was able to be independent and work on my own for select experiments. I feel that this allowed me to grow my confidence working in a lab setting. 3- I enjoyed learning about in vitro and in vivo fermentation. Being able to work with both types has allowed me to see the pros and cons of each.”

We have loved watching her progress. We look forward to seeing Willow do great things.

This is our first step to scale-up the nematode pheromone manufacturing. We learned a lot from running this fermentation at ABPDU at Lawrence Berkeley Lab.  We are very grateful for such a supportive ecosystem.

They learned a lot this summer, and we have loved watching their progress. Liam Morris, a second-year UC Davis student, spent the summer with us as our business intern. He helped us prepare newsletters, create blog posts, organize our customer relationship management system, and much more. Liam was also interested in lab work and gained some experience in our lab. He is a true entrepreneur.

He also felt that this was an excellent experience for him. Here is what he had to say about his experience he liked about communication: “1- Preparing a quarterly newsletter using MailChimp, analyzing how well the newsletter performed using analytics, and making suggestions for future newsletters to be more effective. 2- Creating blog posts detailing events and news articles featuring Pheronym for the company website. 3-The opportunity to work in both a business and lab environment.”

We look forward to seeing Liam do great things.

This second NSF Grant will fund the final steps to scaling the commercialization of the company’s patented nematode pheromone extract for crop biocontrol 

Woodland, California – July 11, 2023– Pheronym, an ag-biotech pest management company, has been awarded a second non-dilutive National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR for $1 Million.  The grant will fund the final steps to scaling commercial manufacturing of their sustainable, eco-, and climate-friendly approach to pest control. The target pests include Thrips, a globally important pest that developed resistance to chemical pesticides. Other target pests include orchard pests like thrips, pecan weevil, citrus weevil, peachtree borer, appletree borer, and turfgrass pests such as leatherjackets and white grubs.  To date, Pheronym has been awarded $1M in non-dilutive grants for their breakthrough work in enhancing crop biocontrol with Nematodes.   

Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $275,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II (up to $1,000,000). Small businesses with Phase II funding are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process.

“After years of proving the efficacy of our patented approach, we are ready to take the final step in scaling production to make our solution commercially available,” said Dr. Fatma Kaplan, CEO of Pheronym. “Our natural approach to pest control will be better for people and our planet – it’s time to get it out in the field so it can make a real difference for farmers and consumers alike.” Keep reading.

Pheronym is presenting our technology at 1 Million Cups. Join us on Wednesday, April 12 from 8:30 to 10:30 AM to learn more about our technology at Agstart Incubator, Woodland, CA.

Dr. Kaplan is honored to be among the amazing panelist on a webinar by the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) free online webinar, “Together in Innovation: Agricultural advances.

Expert panelists covered:

• Valuable resources innovators can use to protect their intellectual property (IP) and secure funding for their enterprises
• The challenges women innovators face and overcome in agricultural innovation
• Entrepreneur organizations and funding sources

If you missed the webinar on Feb 28, you have a second chance.

A brief highlight of the webinar and how Pheronym utilized USPTO sources is on Medium.

 

Dr. Kaplan talked to the 2nd year Bio students at UC Davis BioLaunch Career Lab on Feb 10, 2023,  about her career path, Pheronym, and our technology harnessing pheromones to create climate-resilient pest control solutions for farmers.

We thank Professor Carrie Ozeran for this opportunity to connect with UC Davis undergraduate students.

Pheronym is also looking for interns. If you are interested, find us in UC Davis Handshake.

How Nematodes and Pheromones Will Be Used in the Future of Gardening.

Dr. Fatma Kaplan, Pheronym’s CEO and founder, was a guest on the Joe Gardener podcast. They talked about how lab-produced pheromones can be used to repel pest nematodes and stimulate beneficial nematodes for insect control. To learn more about nematodes and pheromones, follow the link to listen to the podcast.

A great honor to meet CA Senator Anna Caballero at Berkeley lab and tell her about our technology nematode pheromones to help farmers to manage pests in the soil.

Cyclotron Road management team member and fellows (Pheronym and Root Applied Sciences) with CA senator Anna Caballero.

Pheronym made the Startup Battlefield cut! Thousands applied & Pheronym is one of only 200 startups chosen to exhibit at Disrupt2022!  

Come see & cheer us on at the show on October 18-20!

See Pheronym’s 2 min pitch on October 18, at 10:30 – 12:30 PCT, or visit us anytime at booth R20.

Get discounts on passes here! 👉 https://tcrn.ch/3BUuT2D