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Chris Eiben
Founder, CEO at Perlumi
Chris Eiben is the Founder and CEO of Perlumi, a startup focused on improving agricultural sustainability through synthetic biology.1 He holds a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley, where he specialized in synthetic metabolism and protein engineering in Jay Keasling's lab.12
Background and Education
Chris completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor of Science in Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology.1 He then pursued his doctoral studies at UC Berkeley and UCSF from 2012 to 2019, focusing on Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering.1
Professional Experience
Before founding Perlumi, Chris gained valuable experience in various research roles:
- Postdoctoral Researcher at Berkeley Lab (2019-2020)
- Bioengineering Graduate Student at UC Berkeley (2012-2019)
- Research Scientist at the University of Washington (2011-2012)
- Lab Technician at the University of Washington (2009-2010)1
Entrepreneurial Journey
In June 2020, Chris founded Perlumi with the mission of solving sustainability challenges in agriculture, climate, and materials production using biology.1 The company's primary focus is on improving photosynthesis efficiency in plants, which could lead to increased food security, carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere, and land conservation for biodiversity.3
Expertise and Interests
Chris's areas of expertise include:
- Synthetic biology
- Metabolic engineering
- Enzyme engineering
- Entrepreneurship and startups
- Food, fiber, and materials production1
He is particularly interested in technologies that can be measured in gigatons, indicating his focus on large-scale, impactful solutions.1
Chris's innovative approach at Perlumi involves developing a new pathway for sugar biosynthesis that avoids the slow step in photosynthesis, the enzyme Rubisco.3 This technology aims to create more efficient plants, ultimately leading to improved agricultural yields and sustainability.3
