Cynthia Ni was a Project Manager and Science Policy Postdoctoral Scholar at EBRC, where she supported the Engineering Biology Metrics and Technical Standards for the Global Bioeconomy Project, as well as the 2023 Global Forum 2.0, and other activities for the Policy and International Engagement Working Group. She also conducted an independent research project around waste feedstock utilization for biomanufacturing and authored “Transforming trash: strategies to develop waste into a feedstock for a circular bioeconomy” on the topic. She completed a PhD in Chemical Engineering at MIT in 2022, in which she genetically engineered E. coli to utilize mixed substrates for biosynthesis – a project motivated by the desire to convert food waste into useful products. Cynthia now serves as Director of Innovation Programs at BEAM Circular, where she is developing agriculture and food waste feedstock utilization innovation programs to build a circular bioeconomy in the Central Valley of CA.