Samantha Cheung is the Head of Bioprocess Engineering at ALT TEX, a biotech startup that has developed the world’s first biodegradable and carbon neutral polyester-alternative fabric engineered from food waste. As the first team member, Samantha joined co-founders Myra Arshad and Avneet Ghotra at the onset of the company to develop a proof-of-concept for their fermentation technology, and is now leading its development to pilot scale.
Samantha brings bioprocess expertise through her PhD in Chemical Engineering at UofT where she cultivated microalgae for biofuel production. She also has a Bachelor’s from UofT majoring in Biotechnology and Environmental Science. Today, Samantha uses her expertise to optimize fermentation conditions, purify chemical products, and scale-up the patent-pending technology. When she’s not in the lab, you can catch Samantha playing and coaching ultimate frisbee, advocating for mental health, and dabbling in all things food.