Can you tell us a little bit about your journey to becoming CEO of Opo Bio?
I have always been interested in science and how it can impact our society! I started my journey at UC, where I undertook a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, followed by a Bachelor of Science (Hons). After this, I went straight into a Ph.D. at the University of Auckland, where I studied gluten and celiac disease. At its highest level, my project looked at the relationship between food processing (mixing, baking, additives), food protein structure, and food allergens - and I found that food processing can change the allergens within food! After my Ph.D. I went on to do a postdoc at UC and worked part-time as an intern, then as an analyst at Matū Fund - a deep-tech VC fund. At Matū, I became fully immersed in science commercialization and startups and loved it! My co-founders and I then spun Opo out of the University in 2022!
What excites you most about this company?
How we feed the world in 30 years' time has to look different than today! Our food system is operating at its limits and causing global environmental disruption. Cultivated meat has a role to play in our future system. At Opo, we want to supply the seeds to this future industry!
Is research and the food system engineering space something you have always been passionate about?
I didn't know it was a research area I could even be interested in until I started my Ph.D.! It's only now that I understand its importance - there is so much we don't know about how food interacts with our bodies and how structure and processing change these interactions.
We see you're also a judge on XPRIZE's 'Feed the Next Billion Challenge', what does your role entail for this?
XPRIZE is an international organization that hosts a series of technology competitions that encourage technological developments to benefit humanity. I'm an expert judge in the Feed the Next Billion Challenge, a multi-year, $15M competition that incentivizes teams to produce chicken breast or fish fillet alternatives that replicate or outperform conventional chicken and fish in access, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition, as well as taste and texture.
Being an expert judge has been a fantastic experience! The judges help design the rules for the competition and then undertake the judging. The competition was launched in December 2020, and has multiple stages, with finals in late 2024. We have just travelled to Abu Dhabi to judge the semi-finals, where we tasted the contestants' products.
What led you to UC to study your Bachelor of Science?
I was always interested in science in high school, which meant it was easier than other subjects! I chose a Bachelor of Science because I didn't know what I wanted to do, and the jobs I knew about didn't interest me. A Bachelor of Science can lead to many different areas, most of which didn't exist when I started my degree!
Any fond memories of your time at UC that you'd like to share?
I loved the club culture at UC! I have so many unforgettable memories of attending events held by clubs with my classmates - the annual OpSoc Ball was a staple!