Shambhavi Bhagwat

When I began my search for the summer internship for Pivot314, I had only one criteria in mind: “Learn something new, something you wouldn’t be able to learn in your thesis lab”. That is one of the main reasons why I chose to work with a company that utilizes the power of novel microbes to address agricultural and climate-related issues. Given that my thesis revolves around bone cancer and metabolism, the diverse world of bacteria was not at all on my radar until I interviewed at Pluton Biosciences. Among the numerous start-ups that I had interviewed with, Pluton stood out because of their unique approach to solving issues that society faces on a regular basis. During my interview, I was thoroughly inspired and I loved the enthusiasm of the Founder and the VP of Research when they talked about how many microbes there are all around us with untapped potential to make our lives better.

My assignment there was focused on developing a method to increase carbon sequestration in soil using certain novel bacteria. Their goal is to develop an “all-natural, microbe-based carbon capture soil amendment” for farmers. This would eventually reduce the need for using toxic chemicals and fertilizers in the fields which, as we know by now, have a tremendous adverse impact on human health down the line. As one can imagine, this was quite a challenge, given that I had basically no background in soil microbes, let alone trying to manipulate them! In the past, I have usually had no trouble finding literature to answer some basic questions before designing experiments. But given that this company likes to work with novel bacteria, there was practically no literature to refer to and I had to design my experiments blind and learn what helps and what doesn’t on the fly! I worked on optimizing conditions for these soil microbes to grow in the lab, determine whether changing any growth conditions would have an adverse effect such as production of Cyanotoxins (bacterial toxins that adversely affect on human health), and whether partnering them with other bacteria would increase their efficacy of carbon sequestration. Now that this has all been optimized in the lab, the next step is to test it out in the field! Unfortunately, my internship ended before they could take these bacteria to the field, but I am very optimistic about their findings!

Along the way, I learned that start-ups are all about adapting to changes that happen all the
time. I also realized that as opposed to an academic lab where everyone is working on
separate projects and may occasionally help another lab member out with their experiments,
the world of start-ups is all about team work! This internship opportunity through the Pivot314 fellowship was a great experience to help me push my limits and broaden my knowledge on topics that I wouldn’t come across in the duration of my PhD program. Without a doubt, this was an invaluable experience in my career.