Careers

What do you do at Willow?

I prepare, analyze, and process data from high throughput screening and downstream process experiments. I develop a wide variety of assay methods/protocols to detect compounds of interest through UPLC, LCMS, and Agilent RapidFire. I am also involved in maintaining and troubleshooting the instruments as needed.

What is your professional background?

I graduated with the BS in Biology and Minor in Chemistry. After that, I completed the certificate for Clinical Laboratory Scientist preparation program Before I joined Willow, I mostly gained my knowledge working in an academic lab and then as a part-time dental assistant. All this helped me develop the skills for organizing and tracking inventory and working in a detail-oriented role.

What do you like about working at Willow?

One of the things I like is the opportunity to develop and learn new skill sets through training, online courses, and more. The working environment is very friendly and relaxed. I’ve always felt supported as I’m surrounded by motivated, hardworking, and intelligent people who provide me their knowledge and skills.

What are the values that drive you?

Being optimistic is a good value for emotional well-being as I feel happier and less stressed when I have an obstacle. It gives me a belief that there is always the solution to a problem even if it takes some time. I tend to not give up and try to find different solutions to achieve the goals.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I like to go hiking and taking photos of nature.

What do you do at Willow?

I work with the Fermentation Team as a Research Associate. In my role, I support the day-to-day operations, which include conducting fermentation experiments. During a typical week, I will help conduct fermentation experiments by helping set up bioreactors and analyzing samples. My other duties include helping develop and optimize the fermentation processes.

What is your professional background?

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology and started my fermentation career as a Quality Technician for a mid-size brewery in Southern California. Working at the brewery, I gained an abundance of experience working with yeast.

What do you like about working at Willow?

I enjoy going to work every day because I like the versatility of being able to do a variety of tasks. Since we are a small and fast-growing company, I enjoy wearing the different hats this job offers. Working here has helped me grow as a young professional. Willow has a group of easy-going people that enjoy working together to solve challenges, so it makes it fun.

What are the values that drive you?

Two values drive me in the workplace; being positive and being held accountable. Being positive is easy for me at Willow because of the positive atmosphere fostered by all my coworkers. Being held accountable challenges me but I enjoy both the challenge and the growth I gain from it.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

When I am not working, I enjoy traveling and exploring new places. Every time I visit a new restaurant or place, I usually write a Google review so you can call me an amateur food critic. When I am home, I enjoy cooking with my family. We cook everything from passed-down family recipes to trendy online ones. Recently, I have started fermenting vegetables and perfecting my recipe for Tepache.

What do you do at Willow?

As head of the chemical development team at Willow my role is to oversee the design and implementation of strategies related to the chemical aspects of each program we have. Chemical development is an umbrella term which encompasses activities such as analytical method development, assay optimization and downstream processing which are essential at both the front and back end of our programs.

What is your professional background?

I completed my undergraduate degree, PhD and post-doctoral research in chemistry. I was originally trained as a synthetic chemist but during my PhD I became fascinated by the ability of microbes to produce complex natural products. I spent most of my PhD using chemical probes to investigate biosynthesis of these complex molecules and designing biosynthetic engineering strategies to generate novel natural products. I built upon these skills during my post-doc where I continued to isolate microbially-derived compounds and investigated their activity and mechanism. Working at the interface of chemistry and biology has put me in good stead for my position at Willow where we coordinate the use of strain engineering and chemical development to drive our programs.

What do you like about working at Willow?

I really enjoy the highly diverse and multidisciplinary environment at Willow. Working closely with scientists from backgrounds such as computational biology, microbiology and fermentation means I always have the opportunity to learn new skills and train others.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Outside of work you can either find me dining at new restaurants, travelling to new cities, out on the golf course, or watching my beloved football (soccer) team Leeds United.

What do you do at Willow?

I lead a talented team of research scientists who are tasked with developing, optimizing, and scaling fermentation processes for target active ingredients.

What is your professional background?

I have a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Biological Systems Engineering. Prior to joining Willow, I led a Grain Applications team at a Fortune 500 company to develop and scale yeast and enzyme products for the fuel ethanol industry. Additionally, I led a team to model the fermentation process for the ethanol industry, ultimately creating a user-friendly simulation tool for our sales team to accurately predict performance of yeast and enzyme products under unique customer conditions.

What do you like about working at Willow?

I get to work with highly engaged and collaborative teams. We have an experienced and supportive leadership team that values transparency. The culture is fun and positive, and I am exposed to new challenges and opportunities for personal growth regularly.

What are the values that drive you?

Respect for others, open-mindedness, integrity.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

Most of my time outside of work is spent being Mom to two young kids and three Labradors. My perfect weekend includes hiking in the Redwoods or relaxing at the beach, watching my kids play sports, and closing out the day with a nice glass of wine in the company of friends and family. Every now and then I get to steal myself away to a concert or sports event.