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News — The is pleased to announce the appointment of Trevor Charles as a new Board member of the organization.

Trevor Charles is Professor in the Department of Biology at University of Waterloo in Canada and Director of the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research. A microbiologist with expertise in bacterial molecular genetics, Charles’ research focuses on plant-microbe interactions, functional metagenomics, and bacterial genome engineering for bio-products. Charles is Founder and CEO of the company Metagenom Bio Life Science Inc., a biotech company specializing in DNA sequencing solutions for microbiome research and analysis. He is also spearheading Healthy Hydroponics InnoTech Inc., a subsidiary of Metagenom Bio Life Science, a company providing pathogen monitoring services to hydroponic farms and growers to enhance prediction of crop diseases and food safety, as well as serving as CSO of the new inoculant company Earth Microbial Inc.

“I am truly honored to join the board of Phytobiomes Alliance, an organization that I have held in high esteem for its forward-looking role in the translation of Phytobiomes science with the ultimate aim of producing food in a more environmentally and economically sustainable manner,” said Trevor Charles.  “I look forward to making contributions to the Phytobiomes Alliance and its varied stakeholders through membership on the Board. I am excited to collaborate with the other passionate Board members to drive positive change with the aim of creating a lasting impact on global food systems.”

“We are extremely pleased to have Trevor join the Board, he has been a continuous supporter of the Alliance internationally and a pioneer in expanding our understanding of microbes as part of controlled environment agriculture phytobiomes as well as designing microbial solutions specifically for these environments. The sustainable production of food, feed, and fiber in controlled environments will be important for fulfilling our needs for fresh and locally produced food in the future,” said Kellye Eversole, the Alliance Executive Director. “Trevor’s leadership and vision will be invaluable to shaping the Alliance strategy for the coming years.”

Charles has been a member of the Alliance Coordinating Committee since 2018. He was selected for the Board of Directors for his continuous efforts in supporting and promoting the overall advancement of phytobiomes science, and in particular for his leadership in controlled environment agriculture.

Launched in 2016, the non-profit International Phytobiomes Alliance facilitates and coordinates international efforts toward expanding phytobiomes research in order to accelerate the sustainable production of food, feed, and fiber for food security. The Board of Directors is in charge of setting the overall vision and mission of the Alliance and provides general oversight for the Alliance operations.

Charles will join the current Board members, Gwyn Beattie (Iowa State University), Natalie Breakfield (Newleaf Symbiotics), Kellye Eversole, Magalie Guilhabert (Ginkgo Bioworks), Jan Leach (Colorado State University), Emmanuelle Maguin (INRAE), Matthew Ryan (CABI) and Angela Sessitsch (Austrian Institute of Technology) for a three-year term.

About the Phytobiomes Alliance

The Phytobiomes Alliance is an international, nonprofit alliance of industry, academic, and governmental partners created in 2016. The goal of the Alliance is to understand, predict and control emergent phenotypes for sustainable production of food, feed and fiber on any given farm. The Phytobiomes Alliance is sponsored by Eversole Associates, INRAE, Valent BioSciences, Colorado State University, FarmBox Foods, IRD, Joyn Bio, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NewLeaf Symbiotics, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Pivot Bio, Trace Genomics, the Waterloo Centre for Microbial Research, Aphea.Bio, and AIT Austrian Institute of Technology.

To learn more about the Alliance, visit and follow on Twitter.