Leaps Talk #6: The Culture of Synthetic Biology and Moonshots for a Better World
Featuring George Church and D.A. Wallach, moderated by Kira Peikoff. Held online in partnership with SynBioBeta 2020
In a time of global crises from health to climate, how can the scientific entrepreneurial engine drive better outcomes for society? This conversation brings together a synthetic biology pioneer, an iconoclastic artist and investor, and a science journalist to explore moonshot thinking around grand challenges. They explore the most promising biotech tools for future-proofing humanity, how start-ups can catalyze the process, and the obligations to ourselves and others as we develop a shared vision for our biological future.
George Church
George Church is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Center on Bioenergy at Harvard and MIT and Director of the National Institutes of Health Center of Excellence in Genomic Science at Harvard. George is widely recognized for his innovative contributions to genomic science and his many pioneering contributions to chemistry and biomedicine. In 1984, he developed the first direct genomic sequencing method, which resulted in the first commercial genome sequence (the human pathogen, H. pylori). He helped initiate the Human Genome Project in 1984 and the Personal Genome Project in 2005. George invented the broadly applied concepts of molecular multiplexing and tags, homologous recombination methods, and array DNA synthesizers.
D.A. Wallach
Seth Bannon is a Founding Partner at Fifty Years, a seed fund that backs entrepreneurs solving the world's biggest problems with technology. Seth has invested in over 50 startups shaping the world for the better - from a company engineering microbes to produce industrial chemicals sustainably (Solugen), to a company building small satellites to cover the earth in internet (Astranis), to a company culturing meat to eat (Memphis Meats).
Kira Peikoff
Kira Peikoff is a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Nautilus, Popular Mechanics, The New York Academy of Sciences, and other outlets. She is also the author of four suspense novels that explore controversial issues arising from scientific innovation: Living Proof, No Time to Die, Die Again Tomorrow, and Mother Knows Best. Peikoff holds a B.A. in Journalism from New York University and an M.S. in Bioethics from Columbia University. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and son.
SynBioBeta
SynBioBeta is the premier innovation network for biological engineers, investors, innovators and entrepreneurs who share a passion for using biology to build a better, more sustainable universe. The organization provides community members with personal and professional development support, as well as valuable opportunities for partnership, collaboration, networking, and education.
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