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Sandra Phoma
Founder and Vice President
Itumeleng Moroenyane, is a plant scientist and microbiome researcher. His expertise lies in the field of plant-microbe and holobiont interactions in the context of sustainable agriculture to support crops’ health and adaptation to biotic stressors, like pathogens. Itumeleng has extensive experience in project management, design of hypothesis-driven experiments, handling ‘omic data, including meta(genomics), meta(transcriptomics), and proteomics. He has developed unique methods to quantify plant-microbe interactions within the holobiont using reductionist approaches (axenic-based and signal transduction experiments) to identify how evolutionary processes influence plant health and microbial interactions. His skills include Molecular biology techniques, Sequencing, LC-MS/MS, Omics data analysis and visualization, and Bioinformatics tools, programming in R. Especially, as a racialized scientist, he made significant contributions to promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) policy in the scientific community. His vast experience working with marginalised communities with STEM directly shape his initiative and perspectives on EDI. As part of a growing network of Black scholars, I assist in building student and community capacity in science. Also passionate about science communication and contribute to online discussions regarding advances and challenges in plant research.
Itumeleng will provide leadership, deal with all daily operations of the company, and provide strategic support on all ongoing projects.
Sandra Phoma is an ocean microbial ecology PhD researcher, science communicator, ocean climate advocate, curriculum advisor and inside sales representative. Her PhD research examines the relationship between the Southern Ocean microbiome and oceanographic variables (such as depth, ocean currents and nutrient levels). The study uses environmental DNA (eDNA), enzymatic assays and omics technology to conduct biodiversity and ecological assessments. She was the 2019/2020 South African Ambassador in the inaugural European Commission supported All-Atlantic Ocean Youth ambassador programme. She is currently serving as a mentor to the 2020/2021 Youth ambassadors. Beyond her research and climate advocacy, Sandra was one of the organizers for #BlackinMicro2020, helping to run a week of virtual celebration of Black microbiologists. The event provided a forum for the discussion of racial disparities in microbiology and its subfields. Her excellence in research, outreach and climate advocacy work led to her winning the Inspiring Fifty award in 2020. She actively works with various local and international NGOs to formulate and execute STEM education curriculum for students, including EduChange, inc. and ECO-UNESCO. Sandra recently joined Thermo Fisher Scientific (South Africa) as an inside sales representative for the Biosciences division which drives cell biology, molecular, protein & cell analysis business.
Sandra will lead the team with professionalism and excellent customer service as the forefront of the organisation.
Ruth Schmidt (PhD), is a microbiome researcher, data scientist and policy advisor. Her expertise is in the field of plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in the context of sustainable agriculture to support crops’ health and adaptation to climate change stressors, like drought. Ruth has extensive experience in handling large-scale omics data, including meta(genomics), meta(transcriptomics), proteomics and metabolomics. She has developed unique methods to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play a crucial role in plant defence and microbial interactions. Her skills include Molecular biology techniques, Sequencing, GC-MS, Omics data analysis and visualization, Chemo- and Bioinformatics tools, programming in R, Python, Frontend technologies including HTML & CSS, Plotly Dash/PowerBI for building interactive reports, and database management tools / SQL. To translate science into action in biodiversity policy, Ruth has been collaborating with various NGOs and financial institutions, including the IUCN and IFAD. Ruth has been active in organizations including 500 Women Scientists and R Ladies and to make science more open, inclusive and accessible. She is passionate about science communication and has been collaborating with artists on various artscience projects, like for example a musical piece inspired by microbial communication.
Ruth will lead the team by coordinating all projects and managing the company's data solutions.
Ruth Schmidt
Founder and Vice President
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