Scott Franklin

Scott Franklin is the scientific co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Checkerspot where he oversees the development of their advanced materials innovation technology platform. Scott has a doctorate in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and 30 years of experience in plant molecular biology, microbiology, algal molecular genetics and recombinant protein expression. He has successfully developed novel organisms as platforms for the production of therapeutic proteins, fuels, foods and oleochemicals. This is Scott’s second start up venture, the first being Rincon Pharmaceuticals in 2004. Scott enjoys managing highly innovative teams while interfacing with corporate partners. He has successfully built technical, intellectual property and regulatory teams around industrial microbe platforms, while concurrently managing relationships and delivering on milestones with partners such as Chevron (San Ramon, CA), Unilever (Trumbull, CT), DOW Chemical (Midland, MI), Mitsui Chemical (Rye Brook, NY), AkzoNobel (Amsterdam, NL), Bunge (White Plains, NY) and Biogen Idec (Cambridge, MA), to name a few. As Vice President of Discovery and Molecular Biology at Solazyme, Scott was responsible for the successful development of the company’s tailored oils platform, engineering and improving algal strains that resulted in the delivery of thousands of metric tons of triglyceride oils for myriad partners including the United States Navy, Unilever, Bunge, Chevron, DOW, Mitsui and AkzoNobel. Scott is co-author on 52 issued patents.