J. Craig Venter
J. Craig Venter, PhD, founder, CEO and chair of the J. Craig Venter Institute, is a biologist renowned for his contributions in genomics including sequencing the first draft human genome, the first complete diploid human genome, and construction of the first synthetic bacterial cell.
He and his teams’ current research programs include continued analysis of the human genome with a focus on the intersection of the genome and all physical characteristics and how this relates to disease and health; the human microbiome; synthetic biology advances; infectious disease; and discovering and understanding genetic diversity in the world’s oceans.
Dr. Venter pioneered the notion of presymptomatic testing coupled with deep genomic sequencing to assess long term health of individuals. This was the basis for the formation of Human Longevity, Inc. He is currently embarking on a quest to utilize these same concepts but focused on a great area of unmet need—women’s health, to build the first of its kind, for-profit, transformative women’s health center. The center will encompass standard of care testing along with state of the art genomic and imaging powered by AI to deliver the best care to all women.
In 1992, Dr. Venter founded The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR, now part of JCVI), a not-for-profit research institute, where in 1995 he and his team decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, using the new whole genome shotgun technique.
In 1998, Dr. Venter founded Celera Genomics to sequence the human genome using new tools and techniques he and his team developed. This research culminated with the February 2001 publication of the human genome in the journal, Science. He and his team at Celera also sequenced the fruit fly, mouse, and rat genomes.