Vayu Hill-Maini, PhD fell in love with cooking at a young age in his multicultural home in Stockholm, Sweden. He first moved to the United States to work in restaurants, but the flavors, textures, and sensations of the kitchen eventually led him to scientific research. He received his BA in Chemistry and Biology at Carleton College in 2015 and completed his PhD in Biochemistry from Harvard University in 2020, where he worked in the lab of Emily Balskus characterizing strains and enzymes from human gut microbiota. As a Miller Fellow at UC Berkeley, Vayu discovered and engineered filamentous fungi for sustainable foods in the lab of Jay Keasling. In addition, Vayu has trained at diverse gastronomic institutions, including Basque Culinary Center, Fundación Alicia, The Cultured Pickled Shop, and Michelin-star restaurants Alchemist and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. He is excited about building tools for edible fungi to unlock new discoveries within microbiology, address sustainability challenges, and enable gastronomic creativity. (Palo Alto, CA)