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Karen Xu, Ph.D. is a scientific leader in the biotechnology industry with expertise in microbiology, molecular biology, protein purification and biochemistry, and synthetic biology. She received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Montana State University with a research focus on microbial biofilms. She did her postdoctoral work in Bacillusbiotechnology and molecular genetics at the University of California San Diego. After entering the biotechnology industry, Karen held various positions at Diversa Corporation, Genlantis, and Synthetic Genomics. At Diversa (now part of BASF) as a Staff Scientist, she was a recipient of an NIH Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant for the discovery of novel cancer drugs. At a subsequent position with Synthetic Genomics, Karen was the Head of the Microbial Discovery Group. Under her leadership, numerous microbial strains, gene pathways, and novel protein products were discovered; candidate proteins for agricultural, nutritional, and biopolymer production applications were expressed and purified, with greater than 20 novel gene pathways characterized and filed in patent applications.