Kimberley Thong

Hello, my name is Kimberley Thong and I am a graduate from Iowa State University with a B.S Biological Systems Engineering.

For the past 3 years, I have been working as a Research Associate for an ingredients company based in Missouri, USA. In that position, I was running functionality testing on soybeans such as viscosity, texture, emulsion, water and oil binding capacity at bench scale using flour, concentrate and isolate of soy. With those results, I have been working closely with sensory and food scientists to come up with potential food applications using the data analyzed with the functionality testing. Moreover, I have been responsible for writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).  In addition, I have experience in ingredients processing at both bench and pilot scale. 

Research Associate II 

Benson Hill Inc, Missouri, USA August 2022 – January 2023

• Independently execute bench scale functionality testing and project handling with little  supervision.  

• Researched soybean varieties to connect genotype, chemical composition, and functionality.

• Assisted in proof-of-concept projects using the company's ingredients to make food products like  beverages, desserts, and plant-based meat products.  

• Provide hands-on training to newly hired Research Associates in the Food Science lab. 

Research Associate I 

Benson Hill Inc, Missouri, USA July 2021 – August 2022

• Participated in ingredient commercialization to enrich the company's product portfolio.

• Participated in various sensory tastings to evaluate the company’s ultra-high protein soymilk.

• Characterize textured soy protein with CPG companies like Morningstar.  

Seasonal Technician 

Benson Hill Inc, Iowa, USA  September 2020 – July 2021 

• Developed and ran benchtop maltodextrin, worked with Sr. Director of Food Science to understand ingredients, and evaluate next steps for scaling up. 

• Assisted pilot plant jet cooking testing to produce pea maltodextrin and future commercialization.

• Assist in sample preparation for functionality testing.  

Lab Technician 

Iowa State University, Iowa, USA March 2020 – September 2020 

• Assisted in pea starch isolation using wet extraction process.  

• Prepare lab materials and equipment needed for Benson Hill in Ames. 

• Responsible for writing method development and procedures.  

• Record and analyze the findings from lab experiments. 

• Maintain lab equipment and clean work area. 

Undergraduate Research Lab Assistant 

Iowa State University, Iowa, USA May 2019 – August 2019 

• Assist graduate students and post doctorates in analyzing their research in crop growth.

• Assemble probes to measure the moisture content of the soil. 

• Troubleshoot equipment when it was not performing optimally. 

Iowa State University, Iowa, USA August 2016 – December 2020 

Bachelor of Science, Degree in Biological Systems Engineering: Bioenvironmental Option 

INTI International College Subang Jaya, Malaysia, January 2014 - January 2016 American University Program