Erin Zess

My work will focus on using CRISPR to engineer polygenic traits in plants, building on my interests in evolution and molecular technology development. Most recently, from 2020-2021, I worked as a trait discovery and genome engineering scientist at the agriculture biotechnology company Benson Hill in St. Louis, Missouri. I obtained my PhD in plant and microbiology science in 2019 from The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, UK, working with Sophien Kamoun. I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin—Madison in 2015, majoring in microbiology and U.S. history. I am a reader, I like to read; talk to me about books.