Plantae Presents – From Bench to Business: Building Plant Science-Based Startups
Plantae Presents – From Bench to Business: Building Plant Science-Based Startups
Featuring Kathleen Denya, Sarah Hammer, and Lucas Lieber
When: Thursday, May 28, 2026, at
8:00 AM PDT | 11:00 AM EDT | 4:00 PM BST | 11:00 PM Beijing
About this Webinar
Plant scientists are doing some of the most important agricultural and environmental work of our time, but the path from a research finding to a real-world product isn’t always obvious. This webinar brings together three speakers who have built careers at the intersection of plant science and industry: a startup founder who took his research from the field to the global market, a venture capitalist who evaluates and funds early-stage ag-biotech companies, and a university innovation director who helps researchers commercialize their work. Together, they offer a holistic view of what it actually takes to move plant science out of the lab and into the world.
Whether you’re a graduate student starting to think about careers beyond academia, a postdoc with an idea you want to explore, or simply curious about how plant science translates into industry – this conversation is for you!
Hosted by the 2026 Plantae Fellows.
SPEAKERS
Kathleen Denya
Dr. Kathleen Denya is Director of Innovation Partnerships for the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative at North Carolina State University. In her role she supports industry partnerships and entrepreneurial efforts to commercialize agtech innovations. She has a PhD in Plant Pathology from NCSU and previously worked for 10 years in industry at Bayer, BASF, and two startup companies. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleendenya/.
Sarah Hammer
Sarah Hammer is an Associate with Rhapsody Venture Partners, a Cambridge, MA based early-stage hard tech VC fund investing in physical science and applied engineering innovations. At Rhapsody, Sarah focuses on investments in food, agriculture, industrial biotech, and human health. Prior to joining Rhapsody, Sarah spent 3 years at startup companies, first on the R&D team at C16 Biosciences, and then on the Business Development team at MicroByre. Sarah received her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Princeton University in 2020, where she studied yeast metabolism and engineered yeast for the production of sustainable chemicals. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-hammer-ph-d-45bb81169/.
Lucas Lieber
Lucas Lieber is CEO and co-founder of BioHeuris, an agbiotechnology company that optimizes crop genomes through Mejoramiento Heurístico™: a precision, non-transgenic breeding system designed to address major global agricultural challenges. A third-generation farmer and Agricultural Engineer trained at the National University of Rosario (UNR), Argentina, Lucas holds a PhD in Agronomic Sciences and has worked at Bioceres and at Imperial College London as a scientist. At BioHeuris, he has led the development of SURON™, StrigOUT™, and RAIZOR™, technologies that expand weed management options, address challenges such as Striga in Africa, and promote more sustainable rice cultivation practices. He is co-author of scientific publications and co-inventor of multiple biotechnology patents. He actively participates in international forums, advocating for regulatory frameworks that unlock the potential of agricultural innovation. LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lucaslieber.
MODERATORS
Aditi Bhat
Aditi is a postdoctoral researcher in Cara Haney’s lab at the University of Pittsburgh with a deep fascination for how plants sense and respond to the world around them. Her current work explores how receptor-like kinases orchestrate rhizosphere microbiome composition in Arabidopsis. Trained as a root biologist at Penn State, where she studied mechanical stress perception, she has steadily followed the question of how plants integrate complex environmental signals. When she’s not in the lab, she’s out exploring – new cities, new trails, new meals, and plenty of photos to prove it. X: @jumpy_botanist.
Flavia Darqui
Flavia Darqui is an early-career plant biotechnology researcher fascinated by gene editing and its transformative potential in agriculture. She works at the Institute of Agrobiotechnology and Molecular Biology (IABIMO, CONICET–INTA), Argentina, where she focuses on characterizing lettuce genes involved in abiotic stress responses. She is a 2026 Plantae Fellow.
Nathaniel Oragbon
Nathaniel holds a bachelor’s from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and he is currently a graduate student of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany and a member of the Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS) Graduate School, Germany. His previous research focused on plant-nematode interactions and insect-nematode interactions. His Doctoral research at CEPLAS aims to elucidate how ABA signaling, and in the context of beneficial plant-microbe interactions, influences iron mobilization and nutrient acquisition in plants growing under alkaline, nutrient-deficient conditions. Nathaniel is passionate about science communication and looks for opportunities to further develop this skill. In his free time, he loves to travel, and especially to see and learn about sea life. He also enjoys both watching and playing soccer. X: @NathanIgwe.
