WELCOME to the 39 North monthly Newsletter
Your source for news and happenings in our innovation neighborhood. | June 2022
39 North is celebrating 5 years!
 
We recently produced a new video that tells the story of our growth, innovation, and collaboration. Thanks to everyone who participated. We captured a lot of great footage and plan to produce more videos in the future. Please share with your network!
Business After Hours
June 16, 6 – 8 PM
Informal Happy Hour
June 17, 5:30 PM
2nd Shift Brewing Company
1601 Sublette Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110

If you will attend, please RSVP to Carlos Manuel Hernandez Garcia, (meet Carlos in the Have you met section below) so he can give them an approximate headcount. Thanks for organizing these fun outings Carlos!
June 20-24, 2022
Fischer Scientific Meet and Greet
June 22, 11 AM - 1PM
Helix Center, 1100 Corporate Square
Lunch provided
39 North Happy Hour
June 22, 4 - 6 PM
Helix Center, 1100 Corporate Square

Please join your colleagues for another "Pop-Up" happy hour! Let us know if you can attend by June 20.
Creve Coeur summer concert series in Millenium Park
June-September, second Thursdays
Coffee with Colleagues
July 7, 8:30 - 9:30 AM
Helix Center, 1100 Corporate Square

Hear a brief intro from a 39 North-based company each month while you network with friends and colleagues, enjoy fresh baked goods from My Sweet One, and kick start your day with as much coffee as your heart desires!
39 North Pedal the Cause Team
September 23 – 25, 2022

39 North is proud to participate in Pedal the Cause to support to provide critical funding for cancer research at the Siteman Cancer and Siteman Kids Institute at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. With courses ranging from 10 to 100 miles and spinning options, there is something for everyone! 
Enjoy weekly cycling with your colleagues from throughout the district! Friday rides have started again and depart from the Benson Hill parking lot at 12:30 PM. The route is a 28-mile loop to Creve Coeur Lake and back. For more information contact Nigel Taylor, ntaylor@danforthcenter.org
AgTech NEXT
October 11 – 13
Reinventing a Food System in Crises

Join us as we host the first AgTech NEXT at the Danforth Plant Science Center. Registration will open at the end of June. Signup to receive information and updates at agtechnext.org
Developing a domestic source of natural rubber from an existing crop
 
Edison Agrosciences has the key to preventing a natural rubber apocalypse: sunflowers. Edison is an agricultural biotechnology company dedicated to developing a domestic source of natural rubber by improving an existing crop – sunflower.

Edison Agrosciences was founded in North Carolina by Matt Crisp, CEO of Benson Hill, and Tom Hohn, plant biotechnology expert. David Woodburn, CEO of Edison Agrosciences, was introduced to the company while an entrepreneur-in-residence with BioGenerator.

According to Woodburn, nearly 90% of the world’s natural rubber is produced in Southeast Asia, but disease and distance make for an extremely fragile supply chain. Manufacturers rely on natural rubber in thousands of products because it has properties that can’t be matched with synthetic materials.
Have you met?

Carlos Hernandez-Garcia, PhD
Genome Editing Lead & Interim Site Lead, CTC Genomics
 
Describe your journey to BRDG Park
I joined the BRDG Park community in 2018 as part of the initial team that established operations for CTC (Sugarcane Technology Center) in the USA. CTC is a leading Brazilian company focused on research, development, and marketing of varieties of sugarcane. At the CTC Genomics in St Louis, we are focused on harnessing the latest technologies in molecular and cell biology to develop novel improved sugarcane varieties via genome editing. Before that, I worked for Calyxt where I led the vector construction pipeline and supported initiatives aimed at improving tissue culture and transformation processes. Calyxt is a successful startup and pioneer in genome editing, producing the first commercial genome-edited product (high oleic soybean oil) using the TALEN genome editing technology. I hold a PhD from the Ohio State University and a postdoc in synthetic biology from Berkeley National Laboratory.
 
What are you excited to be working on right now?
As a leader, I am enthusiastic and pleased to be working with a very talented team committed to advancing tools and methods for genome editing, along with conducting early phases of trait development. As a scientist, having the opportunity to contribute directly to the next generation of biotech products within our company is priceless career-wise. I am also very excited about my current challenge to integrate our site and our USA team with the rest of the company in Brazil while procuring more external visibility within the innovation community both in the USA and LATAM. Lastly, I am personally excited to continue to be part of 39 North and the St Louis innovation community as it matches my current effort and interest to adventure outside my scientific role into the innovation and business world.
 
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I am an extrovert person who lives by the motto: “a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met”, and as such, I enjoy attending social events to connect within the community and make new friends and acquaintances. Similarly, I love contributing to a stronger and more connected community. Since I relocated to St. Louis, I have been organizing a monthly happy hour at microbreweries across the metro area. These offer a casual and friendly atmosphere to make new friends and connections within our innovation ecosystem. I also enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, and I am a big fan of the national parks. I am interested in learning more about Brazilian culture and took on the challenge to learn Portuguese.
This grant opportunity related to carbon sequestration provides funding for some POC level work related to climate change solutions. Great for postdocs and junior faculty.
The Missouri Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) help businesses in every stage. From concept to startup, growth to renewal, mature to succession. Business specialists help companies succeed at every stage in their business’ lifecycle. Business specialists use their expertise to help Missouri businesses with critical business development issues. Guidance addressing topics such as management, marketing and strategic planning is available for new and existing businesses. All one-on-one counseling is confidential.
EMBARK
The St. Louis Community College recently launched EMBARK, a unique dual credit and dual enrollment program that gives high school juniors and seniors a head start on careers in bioscience. EMBARK students earn a Life Science Lab Assistant (LSLA) certificate which qualifies them for lab assistant internships and jobs. Participating students will take classes at STLCC-BRDG Park, and other STLCC campus locations and receive internship placement assistance and support from STLCC’s EMBARK coordinator. Students may also be able to take EMBARK classes at high schools where dual credit courses are offered. Interested students should email hspathways@stlcc.edu or call 314.513.4441.
Have news to share?
Please contact: Minna Onken, monken@danforthcenter.org