Chantle Edillor, PhD is a #scientist, geneticist, and microbial ecologist whose work integrates molecular biology, @fermentation science, and @Systems Thinking. Edillor received her PhD in Human Genetics from @UCLA where she did research on metabolic disease models. When the @COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the convergence of her loves for cooking and science, she transitioned into fermentation science—doing her post-doctoral research in @yeast–bacteria @mutualism in the @Kruglyak Lab. Today, she is an Assay Development Scientist at the @Astera Institute, investigating the evolutionary genetics of fermented microbial ecosystems as she builds @Microcosm Foods from within. Her research emphasizes genetic architectures that stabilize spontaneous communities of yeast and @lactic acid bacteria and reframes microbial interactions beyond an anthropocentric lens. Edillor has presented internationally at the International Symposium for Lactic Acid Bacteria and @Novo Nordisk’s Microbial Foods Conference. Her peer‑reviewed publications include work in PLoS Biology (2022) on Komagataella phaffii protein secretion and Frontiers in Endocrinology (2019) on DNA methylation dynamics in weight loss. Recognitions include an invited talk in @Stanford University’s Fermentation and Health Science Speaker Series (2024), T32 training appointments (NHGRI 2016–2018; NHLBI 2018–2020), and the Leena Peltonen Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research (2018). Beyond academia, Edillor is a community organizer educator in and around fermentation and fermentation science. As of 2025, she has been a moderator of the @r/fermentation community on @Reddit (250k+ members), a co‑founder of @Fermenters Anonymous on @Clubhouse and @Topia, and the founder of the @LA Ferments group on @Meetup. Born in 1992 on a U.S. naval base in Atsugi, Japan, she identifies as Filipino‑American with Southern California roots. I was introduced to Chantle by @Neil Deramchi and @Shiyu Wang at @Symposium in September 2019. Two days after we met, I invited her over for what neither of us knew was a date—within weeks we were co‑hosting Symposium. Our connection was founded within, and deepened by, our alignment in @making space for @co-creativity and @play. In 2020, we got @Quarantine Engaged and @Married in the Metaverse—transitioning from our metaphysical connection through the @Future Wife Podcast to the physical connection we shared as @Partners in Presence. Our podcast, our marriage, our fermentation practice: all experiments in presence, each one meticulously labeled, like cultures in a lab. In January 2025, after four years of @marriage, we separated to make space for the versions of ourselves that we could not @manifest in collaboration (See: @Partners out of Presence). There is no single control group for heartbreak, but the work continues—in the kitchen, in the silence, and in the field notes of our @becoming.
Education
Edillor completed her PhD at UCLA, @Los Angeles, CA studying Heart Disease in mouse models. She co-authored papers on epigenetics and genomics, received two T32 training grants sponsored by the @National Institute of Health (NIH), and won the Leena Peltonen Award for Human Genetics Research. As a graduate student, she attended and presented posters at the American Society for Human Genetics Annual Meeting and the Keystone Conference for Epigenetic Disease.
Media
Talks
- Lightning talk and poster presentation at the 14th International Symposium for Lactic Acid Bacteria in 2023
- Poster presentation at Yeast Genetics Meeting in 2022
- Poster presentation at Microbial Foods Conference in 2022
- Poster presentation at Keystone Symposium on Epigenetics and Human Disease in 2017
- Poster presentation at the American Society of Human Genetics in 2016
Accolades
- Invited Speaker on Stanford's Fermentation and Health Science Speaker Series in 2024
- NHLBI T32 Vascular Biology Trainee from 2018 to 2020
- NHGRI T32 Training Grant in Genomic Analysis and Interpretation from 2016 to 2018
- Leena Peltonen Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Research in 2018
Publications
- Swichkow, Chantle Reiko, Joshua S. Bloom, and Leonid Kruglyak. "Exploring the genetic architecture of protein secretion in Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) for biotechnology applications." PLoS Biology 20.12 (2022): e3001911.
- Edillor, Chantle R., et al. "DNA methylation changes more slowly than physiological states in response to weight loss in genetically diverse mouse strains." Frontiers in Endocrinology 10 (2019): 487019.