Team

Science that discovers. Experience that delivers.

Upstream brings together expertise in plant immunity, translational regulation, crop biotechnology, and seed-company commercialization. Our team combines foundational scientific discovery with practical experience advancing agricultural technologies from the laboratory to commercial partnerships.

Our team

Built to translate discovery into commercial crop technology.

Upstream was founded to translate breakthrough plant-immunity science into practical crop technologies. The team combines academic discovery, crop biotechnology execution, financial discipline, and commercial-development experience.

From molecular plant immunity to field-oriented product development, the company has assembled a team equipped to move promising biology into commercially relevant seed-based solutions.

Co-founders

Scientific depth and company-building focus at the center of Upstream.

George H. Greene

CEO & Co-Founder

George Greene is CEO and Co-Founder of Upstream Biotechnology, where he leads corporate strategy, financing, partnerships, and commercialization. A plant biologist by training, George completed doctoral research in Dr. Xinnian Dong's laboratory at Duke University, helping translate foundational discoveries in plant immunity into the development of SwitchBlade. He now leads the company's efforts to advance the platform through seed-company partnerships, product development, and commercial deployment.

Xinnian Dong

Co-Founder

Xinnian Dong is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Arts and Sciences Professor of Biology at Duke University. A globally recognized leader in plant immunity, her pioneering research has advanced the understanding of the balance between immunity and growth.

Upstream's SwitchBlade platform is built upon this scientific foundation, translating fundamental discoveries in plant immune regulation into next-generation seed traits designed to strengthen crop resilience while preserving agronomic performance.

Commercial leadership

Experienced operators guiding financing, partnerships, and crop development.

Tim Kroenke

VP, Business Development

Tim leads business development, partner engagement, and strategic collaboration with seed companies and agricultural technology partners.

John Salmeron

Crop Portfolio Lead

John supports crop portfolio strategy, R&D planning, and commercial development, bringing deep expertise across seeds, traits, genomics, and crop-protection programs.

Lee Palles

CFO

Lee provides financial leadership and practical operating guidance for growth-stage companies. He brings executive experience across life sciences, financial services, clinical research, software, public accounting, fundraising, M&A, finance and administration, and systems implementation.

Scientific and technical team

The scientists advancing the platform in the lab and greenhouse.

Jun Cao

Transformation Lead

Jun leads plant transformation and trait implementation, helping move RNA SwitchBlade designs from construct development into plant systems for testing and validation.

Tianyuan Chen

Senior Scientist

Tianyuan drives scientific execution across RNA SwitchBlade design, trait testing, and crop-resilience research programs.

Alexandra Magrets

Senior Scientist

Alexandra is a plant molecular biologist specializing in plant-microbe interactions and plant immunity across soybean, potato, rice, and model systems.

Scientific foundation

Deep roots in plant immune regulation.

Upstream's platform is built on foundational discoveries in plant immunity and translational gene regulation, with a focus on translating biological insight into validated, seed-based crop technologies.

Translation mindset From construct design to plant transformation, greenhouse testing, field validation, partner engagement, and commercial pathfinding.