Summation Soundbites: Finding new ways to extract high-value compounds at scale

During my apprenticeship at Allozymes, I was responsible for finding new ways to produce high-value compounds in large quantities. One of my experiments involved the extraction of carotenoid, a compound that’s popular in the skincare industry. Allozymes wanted to find new ways to extract carotenoid at scale. One of the ways we’re exploring involves using bacteria to encourage rapid production of the compound. That’s a lot more sustainable.

Usually, I’d spend the first 30 minutes at work to plan the day’s schedule. The plan was quite detailed because I had to ensure that I got all of the experiments done in the day. My supervisor would review the schedule and give feedback. Some of the experiments took as long as two hours, so the scheduling helped to minimise downtime.

In addition, the research we were working with was pretty advanced, so to get up to speed, I’d read a ton of research papers from scratch. That also meant a lot of Googling and discussions with my colleagues.

Through traditional methods of extraction, companies could need up to four tonnes of tomatoes to extract just a few grammes of carotenoid. That’s the analogy we learnt at work.

Seok Hwan (bottom row, third from right) and his team at Allozymes

I enjoyed finding ways to create optimum conditions for the bacteria to produce as much of the compound as possible. I would send the samples I worked on externally to a third-party lab for analysis. Results would come back within a day or two. Getting good results made me happy. Conversely, if something didn’t quite go the way I wanted, I’d troubleshoot and try again.

My dad. We talk quite a bit, and I think of him as my mentor. He works in the biotech industry too, and told me about the different opportunities in the sector. That got me interested.

The thing is, like many young people, I wasn’t sure what course to choose. What I was sure about was finding opportunities to experience different industries through internships. That was quite important for me.

Finally, I chose chemical engineering because of its application in many industries such as oil & gas and pharma.

When I was in my second semester of Year 4, I had just two modules to clear. Instead of taking the opportunity to just chill, I decided an internship would be a better way for me to spend my time.

During my stint, I got to work solo on a project and that was truly empowering for me. I enjoyed the responsibility and the challenge of taking charge. In fact, I felt like I was treated as a full-timer. I learned a lot in a very short time.

I started freelancing as a translator for Korean companies about three years ago. Before that, I wasn’t confident about speaking the language even though we spoke it at home. I was born in Seoul and when I was five, my family moved to Shanghai. I was nine when we moved to Singapore. Because I didn’t live long in Korea to make many friends, I never considered myself being fluent in Korean.

When I was doing my National Service, I thought a lot about my identity and decided to something about it. Being a translator helped me overcome my fear of speaking Korean. It started with business meetings. Korean companies with business in Singapore would hire me to translate for them.

More work followed. Soon, I was translating for production teams responsible for organising concerts for Korean celebrities in Singapore. I’ve worked with IU, boyband Winner and hip hop group, Epik High.

For me, it’s more than simply translating for business. I’ve learnt that cultural nuances are super important and this has influenced how I communicate at work. Also, because of these gigs, I now speak the language confidently. They have done me a world of good.

Before I joined Allozymes, I had no idea what it was going to be like working in a startup. Sure, I expected the environment to be unstructured. But, will I be assigned random tasks? Will I be working long hours?

It turned out to be a great environment for me to learn. Unlike an MNC where roles are clearly defined, you could be doing a lot of different things in a startup. For me, I even had a taste of sequencing work. What matters to me is the breadth, not depth, because I was keen to be exposed to as many things as possible.

Diving headlong into the programme, I realised I was given a lot of responsibility and that helped me to grow. It was challenging, but I gained a lot of knowledge and experience.

Challenge your limits and find your place in the Deep Tech ecosystem with SGInnovate’s Summation programme. Find out more about how you can join here.