Deborah Yaver is the Vice President for Research and Development for Nature's Fynd, a Chi­ca­­go-based food com­pa­ny cre­at­ing ver­sa­tile alterna­tive pro­teins to nour­ish the world’s grow­ing pop­u­la­tion while nur­tur­ing the plan­et. Born out of research con­duct­ed for NASA on microbes in Yellowstone Nation­al Park, the company’s break­through tech­nol­o­gy pro­duces Fy™. Fy is a new-to-the-world, nutri­tion­al fun­gi protein that only uses a frac­tion of the resources required by tra­di­tion­al agri­cul­ture. The company uses Fy to make delicious, nutritious, and sustainable meat and dairy alternatives.

Debbie received her Bachelors of Arts in Bacteriology and Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology from University of California, Davis.  Prior to her graduate work, Debbie worked for two years at SRI International in the microbiology department.   She began her industrial career as a Scientist in Fungal Expression with Novo Nordisk Biotech (now called Novozymes, Inc.). Debbie worked with Novozymes, the world’s largest supplier of industrial enzymes and microorganisms, for more than 25 years.   She served as Managing Director of the Novozymes site in California as well as director of Production Strain Technology area that focused on engineering microbial strains.    

Debbie is an inventor on more than 40 issued patents and author on more than 20 peer reviewed publications.  Debbie has remained active at UC Davis and teaches a graduate level seminar on industrial biotechnology from discovery to product which is part of Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology program.   She also serves on the advisory committees for a few training grants at UCD and University of Iowa.  She has been an active member of the Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology serving as program chair for meetings as well as on the Board of Directors and is currently President.  In 2014, she received the first Rosalind Franklin Award for leadership in industrial biotechnology awarded by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).