Emily Whitson

About Emily Whitson

Seasoned program leader with 15+ years driving complex R&D initiatives, cross-functional team leadership, and innovation strategy in biotechnology. Deep expertise in microbial chemistry, platform development, and sustainable product innovation. Proven success managing multi-stakeholder collaborations across industry, government (DOE), and academia. Adept at aligning scientific execution with business objectives, overseeing multimillion-dollar budgets, and scaling high-impact programs from discovery to implementation. Passionate about advancing science-based solutions that deliver immediate and meaningful impact.

Experience

1. Program Leader Director of Microbial Chemistry at Ginkgo Bioworks

   Ginkgo Bioworks

   Oct 2022 — Present · West Sacramento, CA, US

   Directed cross-functional biotech programs spanning microbial carbon capture, strain engineering, and fermentation optimization-Drove a flagship $5M carbon sequestration program in partnership with Bayer, advancing microbial solutions for climate mitigation and sustainable agriculture-Led a $2M DOE-funded program targeting biological solutions to improve algal productivity for biofuel applications; partnered with DOE, Global Algae Innovations, PNNL, and Colorado School of Mines-Provided technical strategy and oversight for 40+ customer programs annually, collaborating with business development to demonstrate business acumen, drive customer engagement, and fuel growth-Built and optimized bioprocess and analytical workflows to scale microbial product development, driving discovery and quantification of biomolecules for 10+ projects annually-Coached and developed a 15+ person team of scientists and contractors, fostering a culture of continuous improvement through empathetic leadership, active listening, and constructive feedback, resulting in 100% retention over 2+ years.

Education

• Roger Williams University

  B.S/B.S, Chemistry/Marine Biology

  1999 — 2003

• University of Utah

  Ph.D, Medicinal Chemistry

  2003 — 2008

Skills

• Nmr Spectroscopy
• Uv
• Chemistry
• Lc-Ms
• Circular Dichroism
• Scifinder
• Column Chromatography
• High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (Hplc)
• Small Molecules
• Drug Discovery
• Organic Synthesis
• Hplc-Ms
• Analytical Chemistry
• Flash Chromatography
• Isolation
• Uv/Vis
• Optical Rotation
• Ir
• Drug Design
• Hplc
• Structure Elucidation
• High Throughput Screening
• Chemdraw
• Natural Products Chemistry
• Tlc
• Bruker and Varian Nmr
• Chromatography
• 13c Nmr
• Natural Products
• Characterization
• Solvent Extraction
• Spectroscopy
• Enzyme Kinetics
• Organic Chemistry
• Chemstation
• Nmr
• Mass Spectrometry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr)