Christopher Eskiw

Background

About Christopher Eskiw

Yeast are the factories that convert the starting materials for beer (wort: a sweet tea of malted barley and hops) into ethanol and the final flavors we enjoy. Not all yeast are the same! Each beer or whisky/spirit is associated with unique type of yeast. What makes these yeast different? It is the complement of their genetic material/genes. Part of my research focuses on how specific changes in these genes result in different flavors in beers and how we can turn these genes on or off at the right times to maximize yeast performance during fermentation. This scientific knowledge is the foundation we have applied to IntelliYeast Laboratories. We are a biotech company that produces yeast for the fermentation industry with current focus on beer and whisky production. Our yeast ferments fast with consistent results, decreasing risk and production times for brewers and distillers. It has long been known that restricting nutrient/calorie intake promotes health and extends lifespan. However, the consequences of reduced nutrient uptake are not understood at the most basic level of our biology - our genes. Understanding how our genes respond to nutrients is essential in order to design therapies/dietary strategies and to identify naturally occurring molecules found in foods to combat age-related disease and increase lifespan. Research in the Eskiw laboratory aims to identify not only the genes involved in mediating health and longevity but also the mechanisms that drive this. Furthermore, the goal of the Eskiw lab is to understand how nutrient availability and sensing impacts genome folding, influencing gene expression, causing increased health and longevity.