Switch Bioworks Names Gordana M. Djordjevic Chief Scientific Officer, Adds Eric Bartels to Advisory Board

Appointments come as the company's engineered nitrogen-fixing microbes move through USDA- and EPA-authorized field trials in the Midwest

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Switch Bioworks, the deep tech pioneer programming microbes to solve humanity's toughest manufacturing challenges, starting with nitrogen fertilizer produced on the plant root, today announced the appointment of Gordana M. Djordjevic, Ph.D., PMP, as Chief Scientific Officer and Eric Bartels, Ph.D., to its Board of Advisors. These appointments arrive at a pivotal moment for Switch as the company expands its operations and advances its genetic-switch platform toward commercialization.

Djordjevic will lead Switch's scientific and R&D organization, accelerating its product pipeline from laboratory development through greenhouse and field trials, further developing Switch's multidisciplinary R&D team and advancing the company's IP and regulatory strategies. Bartels will advise the company on corporate strategy, commercialization, strategic partnerships and the development of its biologicals portfolio.

Nitrogen fertilizer is essential to global food production, but most is produced through the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process, leaving growers exposed to global energy markets and supply disruptions. Switch's engineered microbes, first developed at Stanford, offer a lower-cost alternative; they establish on the plant root before switching on nitrogen production. This growth-production programming is a key performance unlock, and the same genetic-switch platform, controlling when and where engineered microbes activate, has potential to extend beyond nitrogen fixation.

"Gordana and Eric bring complementary experience at a crucial point in Switch's development. Their leadership strengthens our ability to execute and expand the potential of our genetic-switch platform as we advance toward commercialization," said Dr. Tim Schnabel, founder and CEO of Switch Bioworks. "Gordana has built and scaled R&D organizations that translate complex biology into commercially relevant products, while Eric has helped agricultural technology companies connect scientific development with strategy, partnerships and market execution."

Djordjevic joins Switch after serving as co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Arsenale Bioyards, where she helped establish its R&D infrastructure, IP and early commercial pipelines. As Vice President of R&D at Perfect Day, she led multidisciplinary teams across strain engineering, high-throughput screening, fermentation, automation, bioanalytics and data science. Her leadership drove critical R&D efficiency improvements and COGS reduction. She has also held senior roles at Zymergen, Synthetic Genomics and BP Biofuels and has co-invented several patents.

"Switch has developed a compelling solution to one of the core constraints in engineered biomanufacturing," said Djordjevic. "Fertilizer is where we're proving it first. The opportunity now is to scale that advantage, from strong growroom results to consistent performance in the field, and ultimately across every application this platform can reach."

Bartels brings more than three decades of experience across agricultural biologicals, strategy, R&D and commercialization. He held leadership roles at Syngenta and later established and led McKinsey's agriculture and food chain practice. Most recently, as Global Head of Biological Products and Chief Science Officer at Indigo, he oversaw the biologicals business from discovery and product development through commercial launch and revenue ownership. He currently advises McKinsey, agricultural technology startups, and German federal innovation agencies.

"Switch Bioworks marries deep biological insight with a strong understanding of what it will take for microbial products to succeed in the market," said Bartels. "That combination is rare at this stage. I look forward to helping this team get its science out of the lab and into the field."

Switch obtained USDA and EPA authorization for first-in-class field trials of its engineered microbial fertilizer, now underway on corn across multiple agricultural sites in the U.S. Midwest. The trials are studying microbial establishment and switchable nitrogen production under real agricultural conditions. Switch's genetic-switch technology is covered by seven patent families.

About Switch Bioworks

Switch Bioworks is the deep tech company powering the next industrial revolution. Its first foothold is the $100B+ nitrogen fertilizer market that underpins the world's food system, where the company has developed a breakthrough programmable biology platform that enables engineered microbes to replace fossil fuel-derived fertilizer at a fraction of today's cost. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Switch was founded out of Stanford University in 2022 and is backed by leading investors and a world-class team. The same core technology that turns microbes into programmable fertilizer factories in nature extends across agriculture, energy, industrial biotechnology, and the microbiomes that shape human health — a platform poised to redefine humanity's relationship with manufacturing and nature. Learn more at www.switchbioworks.com.

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SOURCE Switch Bioworks