Dylan Hendrixson

Experience

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  Energy Improvement Matters

  Sept 2021 - Oct 2021

  Engineering Consultant

  Revised analysis and researched similar projects to give rough estimates for future project funding. Projects included carbon sequestration and converting waste product streams to hydrogen gas, to reduce greenhouse gases and promote a green/hydrogen economy. Determined on-site storage and transportation for hydrogen gas from waste biomass and methane.

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  Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory

  Dec 2021 - May 2022

  Student Intern

  Assisted pilot plant specialists in the downstream processing of precision fermentation-derived proteins. Ran and maintained downstream equipment and performed lab analysis, to ensure proper data for clients

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  Cambridge University Alt. Protein Society

  Jan 2022 - Apr 2022

  Participant

  Participant in the Alternative Protein Fundamentals Program (Policy and Entrepreneurship). An 8-week program run by the University of Cambridge Alternative Protein Society and Good Food Institute. Selected the policy and entrepreneurship track to learn more about the regulation and perception challenges facing the industry. I met with other participants weekly to discuss the readings and ideas about everything alt protein. Learned about effective altruism ideas and how they can apply to the alternative protein space. Show less

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  Motif FoodWorks

  Jun 2022 - Aug 2022

  Bioprocess Process Development Intern

  Worked on the fermentation team where I led a project using an Excel solver to improve product yield and decrease fermentation time. Programmed an optimized glucose feed rate into BioCommand that could cut total cost by up to a third. Independently managed every upstream and downstream unit operation.

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  The Illinois Alt. Protein Project

  Aug 2022 - May 2024

  Focusing on spreading the word of alt proteins. Through company talks, tours, social events and expanding research opportunities. Received a grant from the school to research decellularized plant scaffolds for fish cells in the Underhill Lab Spoke with researchers and companies in the field about plant-based, cell-cultured, and fermentation meat to improve sustainability, food security, and animal welfare in the agriculture industry. Explored GFI white spaces and mapped out research opportunities to match professors with funding. Ran a mini lecture series on the different types of alt. proteins covering the science and applications.

  • President

    Aug 2023 - May 2024

  • Research Team Lead

    Apr 2023 - Dec 2023

  • Vice President

    Aug 2022 - May 2023
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  Nucleate Cultivate

  Jan 2023 - May 2023

  Participant

  Working on the underutilized resource track with a team of fellow Nucleate Cultivate members to create a proposal on the co-culture of algae for lipid production and using waste algae as an alginate scaffold.

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  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  Jan 2023 - May 2024

  Did a senior thesis “Enzymatic Enantioselective Radical Cyanohydroalkylation Triggered by Beta-Scission”, exploring a new to-nature reaction of ene-reductase enzymes to create chiral cyano products that have applications in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Worked with the halogenase enzymes AetF and Phytase using the ESM protein language model to improve stability. By genetically engineered e. coli using directed evolution (design, test, build, learn cycle) to improve the reaction rate of enzymes and as a case study for machine learning. Show less

  • Undergraduate Researcher - Huimin Zhao Lab

    Aug 2022 - May 2024

  • Course Assistant

    Jan 2023 - May 2023
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  Hyfé

  May 2023 - Aug 2023

  Process Engineering Intern

  Worked on designing one of the unit operations needed to convert food processing wastewater into low-cost fermentation feedstock.

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  E²JDJ

  Jun 2023 - Aug 2023

  Venture Capital Intern

  Did research on early-stage start-up companies (preseed – series A) in the ag/food/climate tech space

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  Tufts University

  Sept 2024 - now

  PHD Student