How a Passion for Baking Fermented a Fresh Career Move
Chantle Edillor, a scientist with a background in human genetic diseases, successfully pivoted her career by leveraging her passion for baking and fermentation. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, while completing her PhD at the University of California Los Angeles, Edillor explored sourdough starters, which rekindled her childhood interest in the science of cooking. This exploration led her to research the anti-inflammatory properties of fermented foods during her postdoctoral studies. Currently, she serves as a fermented food scientist at Microcosm Foods, a non-profit organization mapping connections between microbes and human health, and works in assay development at the Astera Institute in San Francisco. Edillor describes herself as a human geneticist masquerading as a yeast geneticist and microbiologist, highlighting her unique interdisciplinary approach. Her story, featured in Nature Careers' podcast series on creativity in science, illustrates how personal hobbies can identify unique professional opportunities. She emphasizes the collaborative nature of her current field compared to more competitive areas of science, demonstrating how scientific rigor and culinary creativity can intersect to forge a distinct career path in biotechnology and food science.
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How a Passion for Baking Fermented a Fresh Career Move
Chantle Edillor, a scientist with a background in human genetic diseases, successfully pivoted her career by leveraging her passion for baking and fermentation. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, while completing her PhD at the University of California Los Angeles, Edillor explored sourdough starters, which rekindled her childhood interest in the science of cooking. This exploration led her to research the anti-inflammatory properties of fermented foods during her postdoctoral studies. Currently, she serves as a fermented food scientist at Microcosm Foods, a non-profit organization mapping connections between microbes and human health, and works in assay development at the Astera Institute in San Francisco. Edillor describes herself as a human geneticist masquerading as a yeast geneticist and microbiologist, highlighting her unique interdisciplinary approach. Her story, featured in Nature Careers' podcast series on creativity in science, illustrates how personal hobbies can identify unique professional opportunities. She emphasizes the collaborative nature of her current field compared to more competitive areas of science, demonstrating how scientific rigor and culinary creativity can intersect to forge a distinct career path in biotechnology and food science.
Nature