Drew Cunningham, PhD

Inventor of much of our foundational RNA production technology, Drew joined GreenLight at its outset more than a decade ago following his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where his graduate work centered around engineering microbes to maximize production of plasmid DNA for use in human and animal health applications. Drew is an author of peer-reviewed publications in the fields of metabolic engineering, bacteriology, and biotechnology. He holds many issued and provisional patents pertaining to cell-free bioprocessing and biocatalysis of various compounds, including many focused on nucleotide and RNA production for agriculture and human health. Drew led the original proof of technology and development work on our dsRNA production platform and its various raw materials. He has also established and run various R&D functions to support both our plant health and human health pipelines during discovery and early-development phases.