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Brian Thompson, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Chief Executive Officer

Brian received his Ph.D. from Kansas State University before continuing his research in microbiology in his postdoctoral work at the University of Missouri. While at the university, Brian co-discovered key processes that would become the VersaShield® platform technology of Elemental Enzymes.

As President and CEO, Brian is focused on growing Elemental Enzymes into a company that can take complex developing technologies from bench to market. He has worked to establish partnerships with key academic and industry partners to identify and validate next-generation solutions for a variety of industries.

Katie Thompson, Ph.D.
Co-Founder
Chief Operations Officer

Katie studied molecular and cellular biology at the University of Missouri and received her Ph.D., specializing in the characterization of proteins involved in signaling.

Katie has performed several key roles in her 10+ years at Elemental Enzymes, including running the day-to-day operations, product development and expansion of the innovation pipeline, investor and partnership establishment as well as driving of the strategic mission and culture development of Elemental Enzymes.

Michelle Leslie, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

Michelle is a plant cell biologist by training, with 15 years’ research experience in peptide-receptor signaling.

Michelle received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, where she worked with a team to dissect the genetics of flower development and discover a trio of receptors that control the release of cell wall degrading enzymes. During her postdoc at the University of Missouri, Michelle turned her attention to the plant immune system, and the spatial regulation of peptide-receptor signaling required for pathogen resistance.

At Elemental Enzymes, Michelle leads a research team focused on novel peptide and natural biochemical solutions for protecting plants from disease and abiotic stress. Michelle’s areas of interest span across peptide discovery, translational field research, and regulatory testing to ensure product safety and efficacy.

Jörg Augustin, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist

Jörg is a biochemist by training with specialization in plant biochemistry. During his PhD he worked on unraveling the biosynthetic pathway of triterpenoid saponins in the Brassicacea Barbarea vulgaris, which are involved in conferring insect resistance. His postdoctoral work was focused on exploring strategies to bioengineer mono – and sesquiterpene biosynthetic pathways into seed of the Brassicacea Camelina sativa to improve its applicability as a biofuel crop.

In Jörg’s current position at Elemental Enzymes he is working on microbial expression system optimization and leads a research group aiming to identify novel seed and soil treatment solutions to improve plant growth. In addition, Jörg takes over bioinformatics projects such as microbial genome assembly, parsing and reformatting of third party datasets.

Keith Reding, Ph.D.
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs

Keith brings over 27 years’ experience in the agricultural regulatory and compliance industry to Elemental Enzymes.

Before joining Elemental Enzymes, Keith worked for USDA as a regulatory bio technologist and then 23 years at Monsanto working in various regulatory roles including affairs, policy, and compliance.

Keith oversees the development and implementation of international and domestic regulatory strategies as our Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. Keith received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia where he studied soil microbiology, microbial physiology and microbial ecology.

Elsa Smith, aPHR
Human Resources Manager

After joining the company in 2015 as our Office Assistant, Elsa grown with us into her role as Human Resources Manager. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville and after joining EE, attended Webster University to receive her Masters in Human Resource Management.

In her years at EE, Elsa has implemented many of the benefits and programs we have today. Currently, Elsa leads HR activities including providing leadership and guidance to management on strategic staffing plans, compensation, benefits, training and development, payroll, employee relations, and performance management.