“Why Waste? The power of fermentation to transform our food”

The central Illinois region is quickly becoming a hub of bioprocessing and precision fermentation, with the iFAB tech hub recently established between UIUC, ADM and other partners. Sitting at the heart of commodity agriculture and grain processing, Bloomington is well-positioned as an accessible launching pad for technology in food waste upcycling and food technology more broadly.

My company is located here in Bloomington and hopes to make BN a player in this rapidly growing ecosystem. With the addition of the ISU Engineering School, we hope to create opportunities for BN to take advantage of a rapidly emerging industry.

About

Trained as a chef, Elliott founded Symbio Bioculinary to apply next-generation synthetic biology to address food waste. Elliott was a 2023 Future Founders Fellow and a 2024 Amgen Scholar. He has presented extensively on epigenetic and genetic modification of A. Oryzae.  His research interests are in protein expression of Aspergillus species and integrated enzyme production systems to improve bioprocess economics. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois with his girlfriend and two cats.