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Through the newsletter, I’ve had the chance to speak with remarkable scientists from around the world. Many of these conversations have offered valuable insights into how people build careers in plant pathology.
I find inspiration in these conversations, so I wanted to share them here so you can also learn from and be inspired by these scientists.
No fancy recording studios, no scripts. Just me experimenting with a new idea to bring you good conversations with some amazing scientists!
Please enjoy the first in this series, a one-on-one with Carlos Caceres Moreno, the CEO and co-founder of Nakama. As always, feedback on the newsletter content and format is welcome, especially while I’m trying something new! Simply hit reply to this email or vote on the poll at the bottom of the email.
From Research Bench to Business: How One Plant Pathologist Built a Bridge Between Academia and Industry
When Carlos Caceres decided to leave academia after completing his PhD, he faced the kind of judgment many scientists fear: colleagues describing his move to industry as "a pity" and treating it as if it were a bereavement. Today, as co-founder of Nakama, a plant pathology consultancy in Spain, Carlos has proven that stepping away from traditional academic pathways doesn't mean abandoning science; it means applying it where it matters most.
A Childhood Fascination Takes Root
Carlos's path to plant pathology began earlier than most careers do.
"I remember my grandma saying that I talked about viruses when I was five years old," he recalls. "They did not get surprised when I said I was going to study biology."
That early fascination led Carlos to study biology at the University of Málaga. The university housed a prominent research group in the genetics department focused on plant viruses. During his third year, Carlos secured an unpaid undergraduate position that would prove invaluable, learning techniques like yeast two-hybrid screening for studying protein interactions. A skill that students often don't encounter until the PhD level.
"What I enjoyed most working with plants compared with my friends that joined departments working with animals is that with plants you can play a lot. The animal model is very strict. You cannot change anything because if you change a small part it doesn't work at all. With plants, you can modify all the genes you want, play with transgenics, and they somehow keep going. The limit is your imagination and the money of the lab, of course.”
Building Experience Across Continents
During his undergraduate studies, Carlos spent a summer in Saskia Hogenhout’s lab at the John Innes Centre in the UK through a student exchange programme. The experience was transformative, not only scientifically but culturally too.
"It changed my perspective on how other countries work and how they value your work. In Spain, people complain that you're treated like a slave in the worst-case scenario. Going to the John Innes, everyone said thank you for everything. I was like, wow, this is massive. They're saying thank you to me. I'm working, this is my job."
When Carlos finished his bachelor's degree and found himself uncertain about his next steps, he reached out to his former supervisor, Saskia, at the John Innes Centre. Within a day, she offered him a position. That September, Carlos moved to the UK as a trainee, an experience that would ultimately lead to his PhD opportunity.
However, Carlos's PhD wouldn't be at the John Innes Centre. Through a connection with Alberto Macho, who was starting his own research group, Carlos learned about an extraordinary opportunity in China. The Chinese institution offered complete freedom to work on any plant stress topic, state-of-the-art facilities, and the ability to work with the bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum without the quarantine restrictions that make it so difficult to study in Europe.
"For me it was a very nice opportunity. Going to China, personally, it was not easy. It's very far away from family, it's a very different culture. But I think I learned a lot in all senses, both personally and professionally. At that time it was tough, but afterwards I said okay, that was a very good decision."
The Strategic Pivot
After completing his PhD in China, Carlos faced a challenging decision. His scholarship required him to leave the country, but more importantly, he was questioning whether the traditional academic pathway aligned with his goals.
"If you go for academia, you're aiming to have your own group, and that could happen in two, four, or 10 years. Moving from one lab to another, from one postdoc to another, it was too much for me."
Instead, Carlos made what he calls "a strategic change" in his career. He accepted a position at the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) in Barcelona, initially as a technician but with the understanding that he could take on lab manager responsibilities.
"I had my project, but at the same time I really enjoyed being in the middle of everything. Talking with people in the greenhouse, talking with suppliers, with different facilities. I was gathering experience."
What happened next proved crucial to Carlos's future entrepreneurial success. When a position opened in CRAG's greenhouse facility, Carlos recognised an opportunity to fill a critical gap.
"There's a huge gap in plant pathology research. You're studying plant pathology, so you're working with plants, but you don't know how to take care of a plant. There's usually a huge gap between the agricultural point of view and the research point of view."
By working in the greenhouse facility, Carlos learned to bridge these two worlds, understanding both the demands of research and the practical realities of plant cultivation.
"This knowledge was really, really useful for me afterwards. To merge these two worlds, the research point of view and the agronomics and agricultural knowledge."
The Jump to Industry
Through a contact at CRAG, Carlos learned about an opening at Rijk Zwaan, Spain's largest seed company and the fourth-largest globally. The position offered Carlos what he had been seeking: the opportunity to see his work translate into real-world impact.
“In academia, you can give a typical presentation saying a pathogen is super relevant, it causes millions of euros in losses, but you don't see that research having an impact, at least in your lifespan. At Rijk Zwaan, with New Delhi virus for example, it started in Spain in 2012, and a few years later they came up with a resistant variety. You see all your work, this plant is resistant to the virus, and that's really fulfilling."
Yet even this fulfilling role eventually led Carlos to consider an even more direct path to impact. After several years at Rijk Zwaan, Carlos recognised that the knowledge and expertise concentrated in large seed companies remained inaccessible to smaller operations and individual growers.
"All this knowledge and experience are gathered in a couple of companies and stuck there. It cannot be used for everybody else."
Building Nakama
This realisation became the foundation for Nakama, the consultancy Carlos co-founded with his partner Helena Piñar. The name comes from the Japanese word for friend or ally, reflecting their philosophy of partnership rather than simply service provision.
"We want to empower your growth. We want to bring all this knowledge for the service of everybody."
The decision to start a business wasn't taken lightly.
"After this year, I really value all the entrepreneurs that start their own business. It's scary, it's difficult."
To prepare, Carlos and his partner participated in a two-week intensive training programme. "Ninety per cent of new businesses close after a few years," their instructor told them, "but most of these cases are because they didn't take into account certain key points. If you address the very key points at the beginning, the probability of failure reduces a lot."
Starting with minimal capital investment, Carlos and his partner focused on offering expertise rather than infrastructure. They secured modest government subsidies for new entrepreneurs—"not a massive amount of money, but something that helps you keep eating until you get your clients." That first year involved significant uncertainty.
"We had an idea, we tested it, we saw what was more relevant. After one year we started seeing more of how the market was going."
What they discovered was strong demand for high-quality biological assays conducted with research-level rigour but at accessible prices. Seed companies, growers, and agricultural businesses needed help designing proper trials, selecting appropriate controls, and interpreting results.
"When we go to clients and say 'this is how we do it,' they say 'wow, this is really useful. Not just for their work but also for their learning."
Nakama now offers multiple services: conducting pathology tests with proper experimental design and controls, helping companies establish their own phytopathology departments, and maintaining close relationships with growers to enable early detection of emerging diseases. For growers, Carlos often provides diagnostic services at cost, recognising their crucial role as the first line of defence against new pathogens.
"Growers are the first layer that's going to detect new viruses. They have huge experience and an extremely good eye to say 'this is not normal.' Rapid detection of something new can lead to new measures and then block it. Otherwise, you realise when it's everywhere."
Confronting Academia's Biases
Carlos's journey hasn't been without challenges, particularly the attitudes he's encountered from some in academia.
"I've heard from PIs talking about people that jumped to industry: 'Oh, it was a pity, he was a good guy.’ like he's dead or something. They consider it a loss."
Despite these challenges, Carlos offers encouragement to those considering a career outside of academia and down an entrepreneurial path.
"Even if the business hadn't worked, what we learned would have been massive. That gives you huge value as a person and professional. You learn about legislation, economics, strategy, marketing. It's not that you stop one pathway and start another, it's a continuation."
Now in Nakama's second year, Carlos and his partner are preparing to rent their own greenhouse facility, giving them complete control over experimental conditions and planning. It's a significant investment, but one that reflects the company's growing success and Carlos's confidence in their model.
"What we're doing is something we're enjoying a lot. When you help people and their feedback is so positive, that's the reward for being an entrepreneur. You see there's a need or a problem, and you're solving it. That's really, really fulfilling."
For Carlos, the journey from undergraduate researcher to company founder has been about more than career progression. It's been about finding ways to make knowledge accessible, to bridge divides between research and practice, and to challenge assumptions about what success in science looks like. In doing so, he's demonstrated that leaving academia doesn't mean leaving science behind; sometimes, it means bringing science closer to the people who need it most.
Watch the full interview with Carlos on YouTube 👇
Carlos is open to collaborations and happy to answer any questions you may have. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
THAT’S A WRAP
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