Dr. Ai Oikawa

Ai Oikawa, Ph.D. is Cofounder of Afingen and Biologist Affiliate Scientist at Berkeley Lab.
 
Ai is a bioprocess engineer specializing in the field of molecular biology and computational system biology. She is interested in engineering regulatory gene networks to make sustainable agricultural systems better.
 
Afingen is dedicated to the development and commercialization of emerging scientific insights that can have enormous impact on economics and environmental sustainability through new biological products or improved biological capabilities. Ai leads the Afingen research and development team. Her team is responsible for DNA assembly, molecular biology, phenotype, and metabolite analysis to expand Afingen’s fast-growth technology to commercially competitive crops.
 
Ai is the author of over a dozen scientific publications. Her research has been awarded by Small Business Innovation Research programs from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and NASA. She has also been awarded grants from the Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists, Yamada Science Foundation, and the Life Science Foundation.
 
Ai earned her Ph.D. in Bioprocess Engineering at The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University. She completed her postdoctoral training at University of California, Berkeley. She spent a year at Yale University as a Visiting Scholar for Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.
 
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