Recombinant DNA Technologies was founded in 2013 by Dr. Branden Wolner as a full service consulting firm specializing in synthetic biology and precision fermentation development. We have served a variety of startup, small and large companies, leading R&D in strain improvement, high throughput screening and process development. Dr. Wolner also provides expert witness services to law firms engaged in contract, IP and other disputes.

In 2026 we launched a new Fractional Scientific Leadership practice alongside traditional consulting.

With over 20 years’ experience in Academia and Industry, Dr. Wolner has broad expertise in both Scientific Strategy and Business Development. Dr. Wolner is a proven Functional and Project Manager. He recently led the R&D at Aqua Cultured Foods, resulting in a successful product launch in just 10 months. At Helaina, he established the technology platform leading to successful Seed and Series A raises. The first product, Effera® is now on the market.

At Curative, Dr. Wolner led the entire product development cycle for an ultra-fast (<10 min) multiplex qPCR Molecular Diagnostic platform. At Intrexon he led projects to develop a new methanotroph capable of converting inexpensive natural gas to high value chemicals. He also led international enzyme engineering project, drawing on both his high throughput screening expertise and his deep insight into protein engineering. This project involved 10 scientists in the Bay Area and Budapest, Hungary.

Previously, Dr. Wolner implemented a new metabolic engineering strategies and overhauled the high throughput screening operations at Dow AgroSciences, bringing it up to cGMP compliance in a new ISO-5 cleanroom setting. These changes resulted new production strains for DAS’ crown jewel insecticides, Spinosad and Spinetoram, as well as a novel fungicide (fenpicoximid) for disease control in Septoria species. Combined these resulted in over $240MM/yr in new revenue. 

Earlier in his career, Dr. Wolner invented a novel Synthetic Biology platform termed “Genetic Chemistry” that consisted of two core technologies: one to generate genetic diversity in biosynthetic gene clusters (“ComGene”), the other to discover novel genetic pathways based on homology to known conserved genes (“Directed Discovery”). This platform, deployed in a high throughput manner, resulted in novel antimicrobials for the treatment of nosocomial infection, a $13B market at that time (over $18B today).

Dr. Wolner’s technical expertise covers strain/cell line engineering/optimization, high throughput screening, assay development, fermentation development and scale-up, tech transfer, protein engineering, ISO 13485 and cGMP manufacturing. He is also experienced in Business Development, Partnering, Product Development and Market Research.

In his personal life, Dr. Wolner is a committed environmentalist and conservationist. He has served on the Board of Directors of Tree San Diego since January 2021 and was appointed to the San Diego Community Forestry Advisory Board in October, 2025.

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