Burak Yilmaz MS

President & Cofounder

A molecular biologist by training, Burak Yilmaz co-invented Kernal’s onco-selective mRNA platform technology and submitted four of its patent applications. He has 10 years of experience in nucleic acid design and synthesis. Kernal is his second entrepreneurial endeavor. He started his first synthetic biology company at the age of 22, called Sentegen (Sentebiolab), a synthetic biology company that manufactures and markets synthetic DNA (primers, long oligos, synthetic genes, and diagnostic probes). He implemented a market strategy and established the company as a market leader in two years. Sentegen quickly became profitable and continues to enjoy considerable growth today (CAGR of over 20%). As a founder of Sentegen, Burak managed more than $6.5 million of project funds from national and international sources (EU FP7, TUBITAK, etc.) and oversaw the successful completion of more than 10 research projects, including an international collaboration to develop reverse engineered H1N1 influenza vaccine.