About

The story of building Cultured Bugs™

About

Badderloch Woad Inc. was started in 2006 because cultivating cochineal was said to be impossible. Connie M. Hendrickson, PhD and Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD, believe that anything which grows can be cultured, and their fervent dedication to achieving the impossible resulted in Cultured Bugs™. With six patents and more pending, Badderloch Woad Inc. now seeks to sell the IP so Dr. Hendrickson and Dr. Merkle can continue to pursue new scientific frontiers.

 

Get in touch

Our processes are different, but the end product - carminic acid- is the same. We’d be pleased to tell you more about Cultured Bugs™ and how innovation can contribute to market share and supply chain control. Contact us to bring your cochineal production into the 21st century.

Our Team

 
 
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Director

Connie M. Hendrickson, PhD, FACS

Connie Hendrickson holds a doctorate in biochemistry from LSU, with a bachelor’s in chemistry from La Tech, and postdoctoral stints at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Alabama. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists, which she served as treasurer, president, and chairman of the board. Her awards include the Doherty Award from the DFW Section and the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Award. Dr. Hendrickson has a consulting lab specializing in surfactants and industrial cleaners, as well as various technology development and patent work

 

Education

University of North Texas
M.Ed - Personal and Industrial Relations

Louisiana State University
PhD - Biochemistry

Louisiana Tech University
BA - Chemistry

Activities & Affiliations

  • American Chemical Society

  • American Institute of Chemists

Awards and Accreditation

  • Certified Professional Chemist: National Certification Commission for Chemists and Chemical Engineers

  • Fellow of the American Chemical Society, 2010

  • Wilfred T. Doherty Award, Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the ACS, 2007

  • EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge, Small Business Award Winner, 2006

  • Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists, 2002

 

 
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Director

Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD, FACS

Denise Lynn Merkle, PhD, Director at Badderloch Woad, Inc., president of SciConsult, Inc., and 2023-2024 Chair-Elect of the American Chemical Society DFW Local Section, is a consulting biochemist and inventor with experience in diverse areas of science as well as in government, academic, and corporate environments. Dr. Merkle holds a BA in Biochemistry from UMBC, and worked as a lab technician at UMBC and NIH before earning a PhD in Chemistry in the laboratory of Jeremy M. Berg, PhD at Johns Hopkins University. Formal education was followed by postdocs at UF and UNotre Dame, and a stint in AS/QC at MedImmune, after which SciConsult, Inc. was formed. The call of entrepreneurial pursuits was compelling. Merkle's intellectual property comprises early stage, pending, and issued patents. Since moving to TX in 1996, Dr. Merkle has actively participated in local scientific and community organizations, and has served ACS DFW LS as Chair, Councilor, Alternate Councilor, General Chair of SWRM 2004, Exhibits Chair of SWRM 2014, and contributor to the e-Retort. Merkle is a founding member, secretary-treasurer and meeting organizer for the Fort Worth Life Sciences Coalition.

 

Education

Johns Hopkins University
PhD - Chemistry

UMBC
BA - Biochemistry

Activities & Affiliations

  • American Chemical Society

  • Fort Worth Life Sciences Coalition

  • Fairmount Community Garden

Awards & Accreditations

Fellow of the American Chemical Society


 

executive vice president

James D. Skinner

Jim is President and CEO of Terregena Inc., a biotech company he founded in 2006 in both the US and Canada. In addition to serving as Chairman, President and CEO of three publicly traded companies, Jim has served as President, Corporate Vice President and General Manager and Vice President of Sales and Marketing for multi-national corporations including Phillips Medical Systems and Becton Dickinson, following a career with Johnson and Johnson, and Bayer. In these positions, he has been responsible for raising over $200 million in public and private financings.

He was a founder and member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He was Chair of the Division of Small Chemical Businesses of the American Chemical Society and a Member of the ACS Budget and Finance Committee.

Jim was an Adjunct Professor Western Carolina University, College of Business and Lecturer at the University of Toronto, Canada in addition to guest lecturing at various universities including Cambridge University, England, Wake Forest University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Guelph, Canada, among others.

Jim has been a member of the Board of Advisors at McMaster University and a member of the Board of Advisors at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He served on the Graduate School Board of Advisors at NC State University.

 

Education

University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management

MBA - double major in Finance and Organization Theory

York University, Toronto

BA in Economics and Accounting

Ryerson University, Toronto

Chemical Engineering Technology

Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science

Registered Medical Laboratory Technologist - Immunohematology

Activities & Affiliations

Current

  • Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (RT(BB))

  • Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (CET)

  • Chemical Institute of Canada (MCIC)

    Former

  • Scientific and Business Associations: Biotechnology Innovation Org. (BIO), Founding Member of BoD and ExCom and Chair of the Emerging Company Section Board of Governors; NC Biosciences Industry Org.,Founder and Director, Vice President and MExCom

  •   Chair of the Division of Small Chemical Businesses of the American Chemical Society (ACS); ACS Budget & Finance Committee

  •   Association of Biotech Companies, President and Board Member

  •   NC Biotech Roundtable, Founding Chair; NC Council for Entrepreneurial Dev., Member of the Green and Cleantech AC

  • Academic: NC State University, Member of the Graduate School Board of Advisors (BoA)

  •   University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, Impact Consulting Group, MBoA

  •   McMaster University, The Forge, Hamilton, Canada, MBoA

  •  Whitehead Institute – Harvard and MIT, MBoAssociates

  • Government: NC Entrepreneurial Dev Board, Chair and MBoD, appointed by the Governor; NC Biotechnology Center, MBoD

  •  The Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster, MSAC

  • Editorial Board (EB): IVD Publication - Member of the EB