Fatma Kaplan

Dr. Fatma Kaplan is the co-founder, CEO of Pheronym. She is an entrepreneur and accomplished scientist with experience in both biology and chemistry. She has a Ph.D. in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology and postdoctoral training in Natural Product Chemistry with a focus on isolating biologically active compounds. Dr. Kaplan discovered the first sex pheromone of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and published in Nature in 2008. Then, she discovered that pheromones regulate other behaviors in both parasitic and beneficial nematodes. Dr. Kaplan conducted the first agricultural biocontrol experiment in Space at the International Space Station in 2020. Dr. Kaplan worked as a scientist at NASA, the National Magnetic Field Laboratory, and the USDA. She was an Activate Berkeley Fellow & Berkeley Lab Affiliate Cyclotron Road. Dr. Kaplan was featured on the cover of AWIS magazine, for sustainable future. Dr. Kaplan co-founded Pheronym to bring nematode pheromone technology to the market.