Vick is a pharmacist with over 20 years’ experience pursuing a PhD in bioinformatics/ computational biology with emphasis on protein modelling. Currently, he is applying numerous computational methods to investigate the binding of SARS-CoV-2 to the ACE receptor located in human lung tissue. Hopefully, the results will lead to vaccine development. 

Rod McCullom specializes in reporting on the intersections of science, technology, medicine and socioeconomics. McCullom’s focus areas include reporting new research and developments around artificial intelligence, biometrics, cognitive and brain sciences, computer vision, epidemiology, infectious disease and the science of crime and violence. McCullom reports the “Convictions” column for Undark. He is a contributor to Scientific American, Nature, Undark, The Atlantic, The Nation and others. Rod McCullom attended the University of Chicago. He was Knight Science Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Debra D. Roberts, Ph.D. is Founding Director of the Cultural Socialization Lab (CSL) housed in Howard University’s Department of Psychology, where she is Professor and Chair. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology/Neuroscience from University of Toronto, Master of Science in Community Psychology from Florida A&M University, and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Temple University.

Dr. Roberts’ primary area of research involves examining various aspects of culture and ethnicity as they impact the relationship between psychosocially toxic environments, otherwise known as PTEs (poverty, violence, discrimination, trauma, etc.) and psychosocial well-being among children and adolescents.  She has worked with diverse populations and has unique research experience with programs that target marginalized, vulnerable children and adolescents of color.  As someone of Caribbean descent who was raised in Canada, she is particularly excited about the prospect of working with youth of African descent throughout the Diaspora.  Her passion for research extends to the classroom, where both undergraduate and graduate courses motivate her to bring creative, innovative learning-focused instructional approaches to teaching.

LaTasha H. Lee, PhD, MPH is responsible for the oversight and implementation of research projects and programs focused on reducing patient risk and identifying optimal care to reduce health disparities and bring about health equity.  She also provides input into the overall strategy for research partnerships and health equity research for NMQF. Tasha serves as the study manager of the recently launched Minority and Rural Health Coronavirus Study (MRCS), which focuses on assessing the impact of COVID-19 on racial minorities and underserved communities across the country.  Prior to joining the NMQF Senior Manager of Partnership Engagement of the Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials Network (SCD CTN) at the ASH Research Collaborative. She was responsible for establishing, implementing, and maintaining effective partnerships with stakeholders including patients, academic medical centers, other clinical research sites, industry, and Federal agencies regarding their interests in SCD CTN. As an experienced Research Manager at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) LaTasha was tasked with the development of a patient engagement strategy and clinical trials network for SCD, to change the culture and conduct of clinical research for this devastating disease. In her prior role at ASH she was for the development and execution of activities related ASH’s Call to Action on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), as well as the Sickle Cell Disease Coalition (scdcoalition.org).

A knowledgeable, skilled and energetic scientist and public policy advisor with experience on Capitol Hill, Dr. Lee has worked very closely with Congress and federal agencies to monitor biomedical research and access to care policy related to various diseases impacting communities of color.  She earned her PhD in Integrative Biology with a concentration on Neuroscience from Florida Atlantic University, a MPH in epidemiology from The George Washington University (GWU), and a Bachelor’s  in Biology from Florida A&M University. Dr. Lee is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at GWU School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the recipient of numerous awards including the 2018 National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health, Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust Staff Leadership Award in recognition of efforts to end health disparities and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Florida Atlantic University.

Carla Easter, Ph.D., is chief of the Education and Community Involvement Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). She played a major role in the development of the NHGRI/Smithsonian exhibition Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code, and its accompanying website, and serves as a liaison to the K-12 and university community as a speaker on genomic science and career preparation and pathways. Dr. Easter also serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of the District of Columbia Department of Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

From 2003-2006, Dr. Easter was director of outreach for Washington University School of Medicine’s Genome Sequencing Center. Before assuming her role as outreach director, Dr. Easter was a research associate in the Department of Education at Washington University (2001-2003) where she explored the notions of science among secondary students. She served as pre-college coordinator for the NASA Summer High School Apprenticeship Research Plus Program and project associate for the Quality Education for Minorities Network. From 1997-2000, Dr. Easter conducted post-doctoral research at Washington University School of Medicine on the virulence factors associated with Streptococcus pyogenes.

Dr. Easter earned her bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of California, Los Angeles and her doctoral in biology with an emphasis on molecular genetics from the University of California, San Diego.

Jennifer L. Caldwell is a doctoral student in the Department of Genetics and Human and graduate researcher in the W. Montague Cobb Research.  She received two Bachelors of Science ( cum laude) in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2011 and 2012 respectively and is a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar. She received a MPH Epidemiology from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Within the CRL, Jennifer’s research includes genetic and environmental interactions that influence CVD and Stroke in African American populations. The Gullah Geechee of the Coastal Sea Island are a prototype micro-ethnic group of African Americans, as they have a rich African heritage.  Jennifer has specific interest in population genetics and epigenetic methods used for gene discovery and expansion of precision medicine research. A native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, she loves all things southern, traveling, dance, and is a pseudo-chef.

Dr. Eric Kyere is an Assistant Professor of Social Work and Adjunct Professor of African Studies at the Indiana University, IUPUI. His overall research focuses on working with communities to theorize racism, examine and identify the underlying mechanisms by which racism restrict/deny people of African descent’s access to psychosocial, educational and societal opportunities from an evolutionary standpoint, and ways to empower them to interrupt racism and advance social justice in their communities through education. He has expertise in a variety of areas including: students’ engagement, racial disparities in education and well-being, racial-ethnic socialization, racial identity and persons of African descent’s developmental outcomes, parenting, equitable school climate, program evaluation, international social work, and human trafficking. He employs transdisciplinary approach to research and teaching. Specific to structural racism, his research employs the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism to engage communities and educators in meaning making process to interrogate and interrupt its continuing effects particularly in the U.S and Africa. Dr. Kyere earned his BA in social work in 2006 from the University of Ghana, MSW in 2011 from the Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. In addition, Dr. Kyere acquired a graduate certificate in African Studies from the University of Pittsburgh Center for International Studies.

Yangyang Cheng is a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University, and a member of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Born and raised in China, Cheng received her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 2015, and her Bachelor’s in Science from the University of Science and Technology of China’s School for the Gifted Young. She won the Springer Theses Award in 2016, and was recognized as an LHC Physics Center Distinguished Researcher by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory for her postdoctoral work. Cheng writes the monthly Science and China column for SupChina, a New York-based digital publication covering contemporary China. Her writings have also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, MIT Technology Review, ChinaFile, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and other publications. She has appeared on numerous radio, print, and TV outlets to comment on science policy and Chinese politics, including BBC, NPR, and ABC Australia.

ZHAI Xiaomei, Ph.D. of Philosophy of Science/Bioethics (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences CASS, Beijing, China), M.A. of Philosophy (Southeast University, Nanjing, China), Graduated from Changzhi Medical College, Shanxi, China. She has been IRB fellow at Department of Bioethics, NIH, USA, Visiting Scholar at Center for Clinical Bioethics, Georgetown University, USA, Visiting Scholar at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Leuven University, Belgium, Visiting Scholar at, Johns Hopkins University, USA, Research Fellow at Harvard School of Public Health, USA, Visiting Scholar at Institute of Environment, Philosophy and Public Policy, Lancaster University, U.K, and at Center for Medical Ethics, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. Now she is Professor & Supervisor of PhD graduate students at School of the Humanities & Social Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Executive Director at Centre for Bioethics, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College. Currently she serves as Vice-President & Chief of the Office of National Ethics Committee, National Health Commission (NHC), Member of National Expert Committee on Public Policy, NHC, Chief of the Office for Medical Ethics, Chinese Association of Hospitals, Member of National Expert Committee on Human Organ Donation and Transplantation, Standing Director & Chair of Ethics Working Group for Chinese Association of STD/AIDS, President of Chinese Society for Bioethics, Vice-Chair of ELSI Committee, Chinese Society for Genetics, and Fellow of the Hastings Center. She served as the Member of Ethics Committee, HUGO and Vice President of Asian Bioethics Association, and Temporary Expert for WHO. She published books, such as the book of Death with Dignity, An Introduction to Bioethics, Medical Ethics and Public Health Ethics, and a large number of articles on bioethics, biotech regulation and health policy.  

Judy Wang  is a senior consultant for CORTEVA AgriScience and the former APAC Director for Product Approval and Advocacy, Dow Du Pont Agricultural Division. In that role, she led DuPont Pioneer’s biotech affairs, regulatory affairs, and biotech products registration in China.

Judy started her engagement in biotech R&D and management since 1996 when she joined the Biotech Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. As Vice Chairman of Science Popularization Committee of China Society of Biotechnology, Judy actively participated in improving science-based biotech regulatory environment and enhancing public/media education on biotech in China. She was the consultant to the ISAAA China Biotech Information Center and contributed to sharing biotech knowledge and China experience with stakeholders around the world.

Larry Au is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology with broad interests in political sociology, economic sociology, and science and technology studies. His dissertation examines the global emergence of the techno-scientific field of precision medicine, focusing on the construction of large speculative infrastructures for biomedical research in China. His other projects examine the translation of “good ideas” from the field of traditional Chinese medicine to solve “hard problems” in biomedicine, controversies in human germline gene-editing, and the role of expertise in making sense of the ongoing pandemic. These projects have been supported by grants from the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Program in China Studies, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, and the Precision Medicine and Society Program. Findings from these projects have been published in Science, Technology, and Human Values, BioSocieties, and other venues.

Larry holds a B.Sc. in Social Analysis and Research with Honors and magna cum laude and a M.A. in History from Brown University. He also holds a M.Sc. in Global Governance and Diplomacy from the University of Oxford, where he was a member of St. Antony’s College and the Department of International Development.

Lea has a B.A. in chemistry from Willamette University and received her Ph.D. from the University of California Berkeley working in Robert Tjian’s lab. Her doctoral work focused on mechanisms of human transcription and the influence of chromatin on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. Lea joined the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) in 2017 as a science policy analyst, looking at the regulatory landscape as it relates to new genetic engineering technologies and the role of public perception in biotechnology development and adoption.

Sylvanaqua Farms’ co-founder, Chris Newman, is a permaculturalist and an outspoken evangelist of ecological, economic, and social sustainability in food. He’s garnered both criticism and praise for 1.) advocating a moderate, pragmatic approach to sustainable food systems that recognizes the complementary roles of both ecological farming and technological innovation; 2.) frank discussions of the intersection of race and agriculture; and 3.) blunt, unsparing criticism of the “clean food” movement’s often-elitist values and aversion to self-reflection.

A member of the Choptico Band of Piscataway Indians, Chris places a heavy emphasis on the Indigenous ethics, values, and knowledge serving as the (often unacknowledged) foundation of the modern permaculture movement, and the decolonized worldview necessary to ensure the sustainable stewardship of natural resources. An engineer and technologist by trade, he also accepts and explores the potential of modern scientific innovation to address the gaps left by ecosystem farming in solving a sustainability problem wherein timeliness is a factor.

Michael Doane is the Global Managing Director for Sustainable Food and Water for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Michael leads a team of the organization’s foremost experts to scale up conservation outcomes across productively managed farming, ranching and agroforestry landscapes. Michael brings 20 years of relevant business and leadership experience to the role and holds a B.S. in Agribusiness and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics, both from Kansas State University. He has led high performing teams in the agribusiness and non-profit sectors across corporate strategy, business development, commercial sales and marketing, public policy and sustainability.  

Modesta Nnedinso Abugu is fellow of the Cornell Alliance for Science and a graduate student in Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida. Before moving to Florida, she was the Programme Assistant for the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB), Nigeria Chapter, where she engaged policymakers, the media, scientists and other stakeholders to promote access to agricultural innovation for small holder farmers. She was part of the inaugural cohort of Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows program at Cornell University in 2015.  She now helps to lead and advance the communications strategies as well as train other cohorts on grassroots organizing and strategic communications. She is also a 2020 Conviron Scholar of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) 

Leland Glenna is a professor of Rural Sociology and Science, Technology, and Society at Penn State University. His teaching and research program is in agriculture and natural resources. Within that more general program, he has three areas of emphasis: 1) social and environmental impacts of agricultural science and technologies, 2) the role of science and technology in agricultural and natural resource policy making, and 3) the social and ethical implications of democratizing science and technology research.

Franklin Holley is the Program Director for Agriculture at the Keystone Policy Center, where she leads multi-stakeholder food and agriculture initiatives focused on issues such as sustainable natural resource use, wildlife habitat and biodiversity, climate change, and farm labor. Having also worked the World Wildlife Fund, Southern Maryland Resource Conservation & Development, and the University of Tennessee Extension, Franklin has over 15 years of experience in sustainable agriculture, community development, and conservation programming in both rural and urban settings. Franklin has an MS in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Virginia.

Sarah Gallo is Director, Market Access for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s Food & Agriculture section. She is responsible for planning, developing, and facilitating innovative, productive and strategic relationships and partnerships with thought leaders and influential organizations and companies. In her role, she maintains productive, trust-based relationships and organizes collaboration to grow public support and market access for biology-driven tools to improve sustainability, nutrition, health and societal benefits.

Sélim Louafi is a Social Scientist at the Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad, Montpellier, France). He is Assistant Deputy Director of the AGAP Research Unit mainly composed of biologists and geneticists and that deals with Genetic Improvement and adaptation of tropical and Mediterranean Plants. His main interest in on science and policy interface in the field of life sciences, and more specifically agricultural biodiversity and biotechnology. From 2007 to 2009, he served as Senior Officer at the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO) where he was in charge, amongst other things, of the implementation of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit Sharing. He is also member of the Economic, Ethical and Social Committee of the French High Council on Biotechnologies, an independent body in charge of advising the French government on biotechnology issues. He was part of the team of the first external evaluation of the International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) that has been presented at the last IPBES plenary in May 2019.

Éliane Ubalijoro, PhD is the Deputy Executive Director for Programs at Global Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN). She is a professor of practice for public and private sector partnerships at McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development where she co-led Bill and Melinda Gates Grand Challenges Exploration grants in agriculture and health.  She is a member of Rwanda’s National Science and Technology Council and the Presidential Advisory Council. Éliane is a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences. She is a member of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) Special Policy Study on Post 2020: Global Biodiversity Conservation. Éliane is a member of the Advisory Panel of Scientific African, the open access journal published by the Next Einstein Forum (NEF). Éliane is a member of the Crop Trust Executive Board. She is a member of the Export Consultation Group on the Post COVID-19 Implications on Collaborative Governance of Genomics Research, Innovation, and Genetic Diversity. Éliane is a member of the African Development Bank’s Expert Global Community of Practice on COVID-19 Response Strategies in Africa. She is a member of the Advisory Panel of Scientific African, the open access journal published by the Next Einstein Forum (NEF). Éliane has contributed to the Digital Monetary Council. Prior to going back to Academia, she was a scientific director in a Montreal-based biotechnology company in charge of molecular diagnostic and bioinformatics discovery programs. Éliane is a member of the Advisory Board of ShEquity.

Gregory Jaffe is the Director of the Project on Biotechnology for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (“CSPI”), a non-profit consumer organization located in the United States.  Mr. Jaffe came to CSPI in 2001 after a long and distinguished career in government service as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division and as Senior Counsel with the U.S. EPA, Air Enforcement Division.  He is a recognized international expert on agricultural biotechnology and biosafety and has published numerous articles and reports on those topics.  He was a member of the Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology and 21^st Century Agriculture from 2003-2008 and was reappointed for another term from 2011-2016.  He was also a member of FDA’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee from 2004-2008.  Gregory Jaffe earned his BA with High Honors from Wesleyan University in Biology and Government and then received a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Jennifer Kuzma PhD: Goodnight-NCGSK Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, and co-founder and co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State University.

Prior to her current position, she was associate professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota (2003-2013); study director at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM); and an AAAS Risk Policy Fellow at the USDA. She has over 140 scholarly publications on emerging technologies, their societal and ethical implications, and governance systems and has been studying these areas for over 25 years.  Kuzma has held several national and international leadership positions, including a member of the World Economic Forum Council on Technology, Values and Policy; the NASEM Committee on Preparing for Future Biotechnology, Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Council Member and Secretary, FAO Expert Group on Food and Nanotechnology, Council of Agricultural Science and Technology Committee on Gene Editing, and the AAAS-ABA National Council of Scientists and Lawyers.  In 2014, she received the SRA Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer Award for her contributions to the field of risk analysis and in 2017-2018 she was awarded the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Science Policy.  In 2019 she was elected a lifetime Fellow of AAAS for her distinguished work in anticipatory governance of new technologies, and methods for oversight policy analysis.  She has given over 200 invited talks and is interviewed frequently in the media for her expertise in biotechnology policy, including the New York Times, Science, The Scientist, Nature, NPR, Washington Post, Scientific American, BBC, PBS Nova, Wired, and ABC & NBC News.   Prior to becoming a social scientist and policy scholar, she earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry at UC-Boulder and did a postdoc in plant molecular biology at Rockefeller University.  During her PhD, she was the first to discover that bacteria produce isoprene, a precursor to natural rubber. Bacterial isoprene (Bioisoprene) is now being used for more sustainable rubber production.  Her postdoctoral work helped to identify a biochemical and molecular pathway for plant drought and salinity tolerance and resulted in a publication in Science.

Riley Taitingfong is a PhD candidate in the Department of Communication at UC San Diego. Her current project is an ethnographic study of the genetic engineering technology known as gene drive, and the role of community engagement in guiding decisionmaking about its use. Riley’s interdisciplinary scholarship looks critically at calls to test this emerging technology on islands, and advocates for Indigenous governance and oversight of gene drive. As a member of the CHamoru (Chamorro, Indigenous people of Guam) diaspora, Riley is committed to community-engaged scholarship that centers Indigenous knowledge and contributes to decolonial solidarities among Indigenous communities from Oceania to Turtle Island. Her work on gene drive has been published in the journal Human Biology.

Shantha Ready Alonso has served as Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries since 2015. Creation Justice Ministries’ mission is to educate, equip and mobilize communions and denominations, congregations, and individuals to protect, restore, and rightly share God’s creation. Creation Justice Ministries’ membership includes Baptist, Historically Black, Orthodox, Peace, and mainline Protestant traditions. Through its 38 denominational and communion members, Creation Justice Ministries serves about 100,000 churches and 35 million people in the United States. Based on the priorities of its members, with a particular concern for people who are most vulnerable and marginalized, Creation Justice Ministries provides collaborative opportunities to build ecumenical community, guides people of faith and faith communities towards eco-justice transformations, and raises a collective witness in the public arena echoing Christ’s call for just relationships among all of creation.

Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) at Penn State University (PSU) since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains.  Born and raised in southern West Virginia (Hinton), Sara studied Biology at Drew University in Madison, NJ.  She then received a Master’s degree in forest ecology and resource management from Duke University’s Nicholas School.  After a short stint as an editorial assistant at All About Beer Magazine, Sara returned to the forestry field, where she has been ever since. Sara hopes her research and professional work will facilitate long-term conservation and restoration of native tree species at risk from exotic pests and diseases.

Elizabeth is a registered Psychologist and behavioural scientist who uses psychological theories and experimental research methods, to understand and effect behavior change. Her work at CSIRO helps address a number of national challenges, including the development of novel biotechnology for environmental conservation. She has conducted large scale surveys exploring public perceptions of various synthetic biology technologies and is currently undertaking more place-based analysis to more deeply probe the attitudes and likely responses of affected communities. 

Katie Barnhill-Dilling is currently a postdoctoral research scholar at North Carolina State University in the Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources and an affiliate with the Genetic Engineering and Society Center. Broadly, her research focuses on engaging diverse communities and stakeholders in complex environmental and natural resource governance questions. More specifically, she explores the politics and social science around emerging applications of biotechnologies for environmental releases. Her primary focus is on the use of environmental biotechnologies for the protection of biodiversity but also has experience in agricultural and public health applications. She has experience in cross-cultural and international scholarship, community-based research, and in co-constructing research agendas with Indigenous environmental leaders.

Elissa spent the past 12 years launching specialty therapeutics and initiatives in the bio-pharmaceutical industry and developing economic policy in the public sector. She most recently lead patient strategy and digital innovation for biosimilar immunology products at Merck, brought their ground-breaking immunotherapy cancer treatment to market and developed their first 24/7 patient support program. Elissa earned her MBA as a Woodruff Fellow at Emory University and her B.A. from Cornell University.

Sharon F. Terry is President and CEO of Genetic Alliance, an enterprise engaging individuals, families and communities to transform health.  Genetic Alliance works to provide programs, products and tools for ordinary people to take charge of their health and to further biomedical research. As ‘just a Mom’ with a master’s degree in theology, she cofounded PXE International, a research advocacy organization for the genetic condition pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), in response to the diagnosis of PXE in her two children in 1994.  She is a co-discoverer of the ABCC6 gene, and patented it to ensure ethical stewardship in 2000, assigning her rights to the foundation.  She subsequently developed a diagnostic test and conducts clinical trials.  She is the author of 150 peer-reviewed papers, of which 30 are clinical PXE studies. Her story is the topic of her TED Talk and TED Radio Hour. In her focus at the forefront of consumer participation in genetic research, services and policy, she serves in a leadership role on many major international and national organizations and projects. Terry is an Ashoka Fellow.  She is an avid student and facilitator of Gestalt Awareness Practice, offering workshops and individual facilitation. Her daughter and son, their wives, and her granddaughter ground and enliven her. 

Rena M. Conti is the Associate Research Director of Biopharma & Public Policy for the Boston University Institute for Health System Innovation & Policy. She is also an Associate Professor at the Boston University Questrom School of Business. From 2006 through June 2018, Professor Conti was an Associate Professor of Health Economics and Policy at the University of Chicago Medical School and the Harris School of Public Policy. Dr. Conti is a health economist. Her research focuses on the organization, financing and regulation of medical care. She has written extensively on the pricing, demand and supply of prescription drugs

Glenn Ellis, MPH, CHCE is a health educator, lecturer, and syndicated health columnist. Ellis is a Visiting Scholar at the National Bioethics Center at Tuskegee University and was a Research Bioethics Fellow at Harvard Medical School. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Glenn Ellis was a Pre-Med undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, did his Hospital Ethics graduate studies at St. Joseph University (Certified Health Care Ethicist). and received a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Liverpool. Ellis is selected in 2018 as a Research Bioethics Fellow Harvard Medical School and is a 2020 Writing Fellow at Harvard Medical School. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the National Bioethics Center for Research and Healthcare at Tuskegee University. He lectures frequently on “Inclusion and Retention of African Americans in Clinical Trials”.  

David Sittenfeld is Manager of Forums and National Collaborations at the Museum of Science in Boston.  In this work, David and his colleagues engage publics, policymakers, and scientists in conversations around emerging scientific and technological issues.  In addition to overseeing the Museum’s Forum program, David regularly gives talks on topics in current science and technology at the Museum, delivers demonstrations in the exhibit halls, and manages special programs and exhibit projects.  David leads national efforts such as the NSF-funded Building with Biology project, which facilitated conversations among public audiences and members of the synthetic biology community at over 200 informal science education sites around the United States including over 50 deliberative Forums on topics including mosquito engineering and human genome editing.  David is a co-founder of the Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology Network, which will be organizing NIH-funded US deliberations on genome editing technologies as part of an upcoming global deliberation on genome editing that was recently highlighted in Science magazine.

Dr. Anne Cheever joined DARPA as a program manager in August 2020. Prior to joining DARPA, Cheever was a lead biotechnologist at MITRE Corporation, where she provided scientific and strategic support to multiple federal institutions in the areas of biodefense, biosecurity, disruptive technologies, and emerging infectious disease. She also led a team focused on COVID-19 vaccine acceleration, communications, security, and data analytics in support of Operation Warp Speed (OWS) and the Department of Defense (DoD). She is a former fellow of the Johns Hopkin’s Center for Health Security Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative and an alumni of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowship. Dr. Cheever received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in cell and developmental biology, Bachelor of Science degree in ecology, ethology, and evolution; and certificate in business administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Brantley Browning is a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focusing on policy, advocacy, and communications for agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Previously, Brantley worked at Starbucks Coffee Company, where he was responsible for integrating social and economic development programs within coffee, tea, and cocoa producing communities.. Brantley worked for the World Bank in several capacities, including the development and administration of Global Environment Facility grants in Africa and as liaison supporting regional and sectoral staff with their efforts to better engage NGOs globally on a range of policy and programs. He is a former Peace Corps volunteer and has a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School. 

Shahram is Founder/ General Partner at Civilization Ventures (inquiries to info@civilizationventures.com), a venture capital firm focused on supporting cutting-edge innovations in health tech and biology. Prior to CV, Shahram was a serial entrepreneur and founding executive in several life science companies, raising over $100M. Shahram was the founding CEO of Rgenix, a clinical-stage biotech company with multiple first-in-class therapeutics for cancer, and the CFO and VP of Corporate Development at NextBio, a genomics software pioneer acquired by Illumina. As an investor, Shahram has backed some of the most transformative companies in health tech and the life sciences, including digital health leader Omada Health, gene therapy leader Rocket Pharma (NASDAQ: RCKT), Singular Bio (acquired by Invitae), Counsyl (acquired by Myriad), Bina (acquired by Roche), and Avantome (acquired by Illumina). Shahram founded CV to support a new generation of category-defining companies, including Billion-to-One (diagnostics/ genomics), Evonetix (gene synthesis) and Catalog (DNA data storage). Outside of work, Shahram is passionate about education and science, human rights and nature.

Dr. Ouedraogo is as a scientist in genetics and plant breeding and got his PhD in Canada. He focused his research on the use of biotechnology and biosafety tools in crops. As a plant breeder, he has established the Plant Genetics and Biotechnology laboratory in the national research system of Burkina Faso. He has contributed to create many cowpea varieties that are released in Burkina Faso as well as in West African countries. 

From 2007 to 2014 he has been elected Member parliament and nominated minister of animal resources and fisheries in Burkina Faso. 

Dr. Ouedraogo is also member of the Board of Trustees of the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF) that is based in Nairobi, Kenya.  

David Winickoff heads the Secretariat of the Working Party on Bio-, Nano-, and Converging Technology (BNCT) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In this capacity he leads research, policy work, and soft law development in the area of science, technology, and innovation at the national and international levels. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (JD), Cambridge University (MA), and Yale (BA). Prior to his work at the OECD, he was a tenured professor at the University of California, Berkeley, (2010-2017) where he directed the Program on Science and Technology Studies (STS) and supervised PhD students in law, STS, and Environmental Policy. He is currently an Associated Researcher at Oxford University and an Affiliated Professor at SciencesPo School of Law in Paris.