Dr Junwei Ji

Dr Junwei Ji is a biotechnologist and entrepreneur of East Asian heritage whose academic and commercial work sits at the intersection of plant molecular biology and agricultural technology. He conducted his doctoral and postdoctoral research at the University of Manchester, where his work on plant organelle genetics — specifically the biology of chloroplasts and mitochondria — laid the scientific foundation for what would become Cytotrait. His research focused on developing methods to introduce targeted genetic modifications into plant organelle genomes, an area with significant commercial potential but historically limited practical tools.

Ji co-founded Cytotrait alongside Dr Anil Day, drawing on intellectual property developed together at the University of Manchester. The company was originally known as Plant Organelle Technologies before rebranding to reflect its commercial focus on trait development. Ji worked closely with the University of Manchester Innovation Factory — the institution's technology transfer office — on intellectual property strategy, company formation, business planning, and investor readiness. Cytotrait also participated in Northern Gritstone's NG Studios deeptech venture-building programme, which provides structured support to university spinouts from northern England's institutions.

As Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cytotrait, Ji has led the technical and strategic development of the company's core platform: the Mutant Organelle Selection System (MOSS). MOSS enables the rapid and marker-free achievement of homoplasmy in plant organelles, overcoming a longstanding bottleneck in organelle engineering and unlocking the potential for high-level trait expression in major crop species. Before the seed round, Ji had already initiated a wheat pipeline with funding from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), demonstrating proof-of-concept data in two crop species.

In March 2026, Ji led Cytotrait through the close of its £3 million seed round, backed by Northern Gritstone, the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund, and the Northern Universities Ventures Fund. The funding will support new research programmes targeting wheat, maize, potato, and canola. Ji has positioned Cytotrait's commercialisation strategy around partnerships with major seed developers, combining co-development and licensing models to bring MOSS-derived crop traits to global agricultural markets.