Tamara Meragelman

SVP of Research at Sound Agriculture

Speaker

Tamara Meragelman, PhD SVP of Research, Sound Agriculture

Tamara Meragelman brings more than 20 years of experience in natural products discovery and R&D leadership. Her experience extends across both startups and global companies, including Zymergen, Bayer Crop Science and AgraQuest, where she helped discover biologicals and small molecules for crop protection and crop enhancement. For the last 13 years she has focused on agriculture and food production, developing solutions that balance efficacy with environmental and financial sustainability. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Argentina).

As SVP of Research at Sound Agriculture, Tamara designed the company's discovery platform, which identifies small-molecule chemical signals that change the makeup and behavior of beneficial soil microbes. These molecules mimic the natural signaling between plants and microbes in the rhizosphere. The platform has already produced SOURCE, a product that activates nitrogen-fixing bacteria and phosphorus-solubilizing microbes so crops can use more of the nutrients already in the soil. Her team's mission: make fertilizer use more efficient and protect crops while reducing environmental impact.