Thomas Ellison

Background

About Thomas Ellison

Hardworking engineer with extensive experience in biological research and manufacturing, but also a wide range of interests and a proclivity for the liberal arts. Currently trying to learn more about lab-grown meat and 3D-printed biomaterials, especially the difficulties in achieving biocompatibility for implants. Highlighted skills: mammalian cell culture, aseptic technique, extrusion and resin 3D printing, prototyping and iteration, GDP/GLP/GMP, plant care (especially Arabidopsis and corn). While obtaining my B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, I gained wet lab research experience by designing and completing independent projects with a nutrition lab in the WashU School of Medicine and with a plant biology lab on the WashU main campus. After graduating, I wanted to gain more experience in the biotech industry. I spent two years with UN & UP, a medical device start-up which is funded entirely by SBIR grants from the NIH, while we upgraded from a space at an incubator to our own office and production floor. I then spent a year researching cryogenic storage for corn pollen at Bayer Crop Science, helping to test new methods and scale them up for use in the field. Now I work in biopharmaceutical manufacturing at Thermo Fisher Scientific, focusing on large-scale cell culture in an aseptic facility where cGMP methods are central to our production of next-generation drugs for cancer and orphan diseases. I'm searching for a career in biotech where my work helps to create a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable world. However, I also believe that our world faces structural problems that cannot be addressed by innovation and improved efficiency. Community action, grassroots movements, and local governance are essential to reframe otherwise intractable challenges like climate change and increasing income inequality. I volunteer with the Saint Louis Mutual Aid network and urban farms in the STL area because they work for social change at the level of the community. Assorted interests: symbiotic relationships, imaging, molecular machines, community farming, and the STL music scene.