PhD Turns Pandemic Sourdough Hobby Into Dream Career

Chantle Edillor stared at her sourdough starter during COVID lockdown, unable to access her lab for dissertation research. That moment of quarantine frustration sparked a complete career transformation.

The UCLA researcher had just finished her PhD studying metabolic diseases when pandemic baking reignited something deeper. She remembered herself as a child, bowl of egg whites in her lap, whisking meringue while watching the Food Network and wondering how proteins trap air to create texture.

Those childhood questions never really left her. During lockdown, Edillor channeled her experimental energy from mice and cell cultures into her kitchen, watching wild yeast bubble and ferment with the same scientific curiosity she'd brought to her PhD work.

In 2022, she made the leap. Edillor started a postdoc at UCLA researching the anti-inflammatory properties of fermented foods, then moved into roles at two nonprofits dedicated to understanding fermentation science.

Today she works as a fermented food scientist at Microcosm Foods, mapping connections between fermented foods, microbes and human health. She also develops assays at the Astera Institute in the Bay Area, combining roles that let her explore fermentation from multiple angles.

Her experiments get wonderfully creative. Edillor adds kombucha to leftover dinner party wine to make red wine vinegar, understanding that acetic acid bacteria create that sharp, tangy flavor. She's tried making miso from blue tortilla chips, though the deep-fried fat created an oxidized flavor she won't be commercializing anytime soon.

Why This Inspires

Edillor's story shows how creative exploration can lead to unexpected career paths. She describes herself as "a human geneticist masquerading as a yeast geneticist, masquerading as a microbiologist," finding her way into collaborative spaces that value curiosity over competition.

Her scientific background gives her unique insight into creative fermentation applications. When she reads about techniques in resources like the Noma Guide to Fermentation, she immediately sees opportunities to experiment with different microbes and approaches that others might miss.

The permeability between her day job and creative pursuits has become her professional sweet spot. What started as quarantine angst and a need to tinker has evolved into meaningful work at the intersection of food science, microbiology and human health.

From childhood meringue experiments to pandemic sourdough to nonprofit fermentation research, Edillor proves that following curiosity can ferment into something remarkable.