CREDIT: BOGUMIL KARAS
Zachary Klassen, Jasmine Therrient and Kyle Lee are Karas' technical specialists at Designer Microbes.

Dr. Bogumil Karas, a graduate from both Fanshawe College and Western University, has started his own microbial engineering research company in London.

With his company called Designer Microbes, Karas’ goal is to engineer microbes and genetically manipulate them into another product. Karas said what makes his company unique is that they are able to experiment with a large number of genes at a time, possibly hundreds, to find other possible uses for the microbe.

Karas described the process as taking genes from one species and putting them in a host species where the genes can then be manipulated and then put back in the original species.

According to Karas, the possibilities stemming from this research are endless. One project he worked on involved manipulating the genes of algae to try and create potential biofuel, bioplastics and more. He has also been working with the bacteria E. coli and species of yeast. He said Designer Microbes is especially interested in studying unexplored microbes and unlock their scientific potential.

“Any kind of chemical can be produced by microbes so the goal is to [turn them into] medicine, fuel or food, that we can all produce by just using microbes,” Karas said.

Originally from Poland, Karas moved to London and attended two post-secondary schools that the city has to offer.

Karas said he was always interested in nature and biology, so it was an easy decision to study environmental engineering at Fanshawe. It was at Fanshawe where he developed his interest in molecular biology. He went to Western to earn a degree in Science and then came back to Fanshawe to research. His research facility is located at the Stiller Centre at the Western campus.

Karas works with a team of students and scientists from Fanshawe, including Dr. Cheryl Ketola, coordinator of Fanshawe’s biotechnology applied degree program.

“All the people working in the company are actually from Fanshawe,” Karas said.

He said he met his research assistants after giving a talk at Fanshawe. Karas said he was approached by many students after the talk who were extremely interested in working with him, which led to two co-op positions.

Karas created a crowdfunding project to assist in funding scholarships for research students on Go- FundMe.

Designer Microbes is proof that scientific advancements are happening right here in London. Anyone interested in working with the company or funding the research can visit their website at designermicrobes.com.