Waukon natives Jim and Jody Zahn pursuing big things in their small town lab as they bring their Natureferm business back home with them
Zahns bring research & development business back to their hometown ... Waukon natives Jim and Jody (Van Ruler) Zahn stand with their son, Jackson, among some of the lab equipment they use in their Natureferm research and development business they started together. The Waukon High School graduates returned to their hometown earlier this year and brought that research and development business to the former JaDecc’S building on 1st Street NW in Waukon. Submitted photo.
Brings global experience to his hometown corner of the world ... Jim Zahn, a 1986 graduate of Waukon High School and the son of Bob and Cathy Zahn of Waukon, is pictured above standing within the plant he was in charge of in Tennessee for DuPont, the multinational chemical company. Zahn has taken his education and experience from many years in the field of industrial biotechnology and, along with the human resources background of his wife, Jody, a 1987 graduate of Waukon High School and the daughter of Howard and Dorothy Van Ruler of Waukon, started a new research and development business called Natureferm that they have now brought back to their hometown of Waukon within the past several months. Submitted photo.
by Brianne Grimstad
In May of this year, a new business moved into the building at 17 1st Street NW in downtown Waukon. Formerly housing The Copy Shoppe and more locally known previously as JaDecc’S, the building has now taken on a new identity as the home of Natureferm, becoming an R&D (research and development) center where a potentially life-saving drug is being developed in partnership with Iowa State University (ISU), the University of Michigan and a German Research Institute specializing in disease treatments.
Jim and Jody (Van Ruler) Zahn are both Waukon natives and owners of Natureferm. Jim is the son of Bob and Cathy Zahn, and Jody is the daughter of Howard and Dorothy Van Ruler.
After leaving Waukon in 1988, they attended Central College and Iowa State University (ISU). They then spent the next 35 years working in industry, within the fields of Human Resources for Jody and Industrial Biotechnology for Jim.
After years of working for large employers including the United States Department of Agriculture, Corteva Agriscience, Eli Lilly and DuPont for Jim, and Wells Fargo, T. Rowe Price, Under Armour and Oak Ridge National Lab for Jody, they decided to start their own business.
“We had the opportunity to start a small consulting business in 2009 mainly out of the need to manage small, after-hours projects for colleagues and friends that I had worked with over the years in the biotechnology industry,” explained Jim.
As these projects grew, they both decided to leave their industry jobs in 2023 and focus solely on Natureferm activities. Their decision to relocate their business to Waukon was driven by a desire to be closer to family and to reduce travel time to ISU and other collaboratory sites.
“We’ve lived in five states and moved 20 times,” Jody explained, noting the family stayed mostly in the Midwest to follow opportunities while working for large companies. “Fortunately, the kind of work that Natureferm is doing can be done almost anywhere, and there are many advantages of being back in Iowa.”
Their company provides a variety of services including research and development for the biotechnology industry to advance new products to the market and, more often, to make existing products better or less expensive. They are currently working with ISU, the University of Michigan and a research institute from Germany to develop a new treatment for Wilson disease.
Wilson disease is a very rare inherited condition, affecting 1 in 30,000 people, and causing their bodies to accumulate copper, which is naturally found in many types of food. Humans need some copper in their bodies to stay healthy, and they get that from the foods they eat.
Normally, the body uses what it needs and then excretes the excess copper. With Wilson disease, copper builds up in the liver and brain causing irreversible damage. It can also build up in the eyes.
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, September 11, 2024 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
