Please tell us a bit about yourself and what is your role at Onego?

Hello! I’m Tommi Kotila and I work as a senior researcher and team lead at Onego Bio. My work focuses on leading a small team in strain engineering, where we train our fungi to produce Bioalbumen®, our non-animal egg protein, as efficiently as possible. My role is quite collaborative, as I work with other teams across the company.

I have also worked on the process development and purification side of Bioalbumen®. I was helping to figure out how to isolate and purify ovalbumin, the main egg white protein. I still occasionally support that team as part of a smaller ongoing project. I’ve also worked closely with our food team to understand how Bioalbumen® works in different food applications to make sure its functionality is optimized for our customers. My role often connects scientific insight with practical testing to make sure our product performs well in real-world food applications.

I have a background in structural biology, and my doctoral research focused on studying proteins at the atomic level: how they’re built and how they work – for example, how proteins or enzymes help biological processes and reactions happen faster. With that deep understanding, I apply what I know about proteins to our processes. So, for example, finding out the most optimal conditions to produce and purify Bioalbumen® to enhance its performance in food applications.

What’s the best part about working at Onego Bio?

Well, during my dissertation, I wondered where such deep understanding of proteins could ultimately be applied, or where my research might be needed. Now I get to use that knowledge every day, thinking through new ideas and ways to develop our processes.

But I’d say that the best part about working at Onego is that no two days are ever the same. You can’t really predict what challenges or opportunities each day will bring, and that’s what makes the work so interesting. I get to use my strengths in science and problem-solving skills, and the atmosphere here is open, curious, and full of energy.

And what makes the team special is that everyone brings different skills and knows how to adapt quickly when things change. You can really see that the people here have such a good expertise and creativity, that whatever the situation, we always find a way to solve it – it can get hectic at times, with quick decisions and changes being made, but everyone has the desire and ability to act.