Everything Goes with Pascal

Ep 17. Jessica Chiang: Chief Scientific Officer on Science for the Environment and Entrepreneurship


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Timestamps

00:02:00 Growing up in Taiwan

00:15:52 Moving to and studying in New Zealand

00:32:51 Biotechnology

00:51:04 Getting into entrepreneurship

01:20:59 Becoming the CFO of BioFab

01:41:16 Segment: Everything is Identified

01:48:52 Contact info:

01:54:00 Segment: Atomic Hypothesis


Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesschiang/

https://www.biofab.bio/


Jessica Chiang is the Chief Scientific Officer at BioFab, a NZ startup working towards replacing plastic packaging with packages made out of mycelium. As the CSO of the company, she is conducting the research as part of her PhD programme at the University of Auckland.

Jess has a proactive entrepreneurship mindset and this was already showing as an undergraduate student. In her third year of studying Biotechnology at the university, she formed what became the first team to enter the International Genetic Engineering Machine competition, researching enzymes that can degrade plastic. She also had an idea for a 3D printing material out of fungi to replace Styrofoam packaging. This idea won her the Velocity Innovation Challenge and the top prize at the Gap Summit in Washington DC.

For Jess, It was always about making a positive impact on the environment using science. Following her Masters, she wanted to investigate an idea replacing plastic packaging material with fungal mycelium. Coincidentally around the same time, she came across BioFab that had a similar vision as her. She got in contact with the founders eventually became the CSO of the company. 

In this episode, Jess and I talk about not fitting in the academic settings in Taiwan, growing up loving the nature, moving to New Zealand, getting into entrepreneurship, and her passion for conducting scientific research for the environment. 

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Everything Goes with PascalBy Pascal