Peter Beetham

Biography

Peter co-founded Cibus with Keith Walker and took a lead role in developing the core technologies associated with the Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS™). He played an integral part in setting up Cibus’ first San Diego facility in 2000, and is currently based in the new expanded California location. During his career at Cibus, Peter led the research and product development teams before taking on the role of CEO in July 2014. Peter has over 30 years of experience in agriculture, with a passion for moving technology to commercial application. During his eight-year tenure at the Victorian Department of Agriculture (Australia), he led a team that provided pathogen-testing of root crops for many countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, helping to increase crop yields and improve farmer economics. He received his PhD in Plant Molecular Virology from QUT in Brisbane, Australia and is a BSc (Hons) graduate of Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Prior to joining Cibus, Peter was research director of the Plant and Industrial Products Division at ValiGen, formerly Kimeragen, Inc. Part of Peter's extensive research experience was at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, where he was a postdoctoral scientist and one of the pioneers of the early work that led to the Cibus RTDS technology.

Research Interest

medicine