SynBioBeta 2026 Speaker

Christina Smolke

Antheia

CEO & Co-Founder

Christina is a pioneer in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, where she has over 20 years of experience. As Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, her laboratory led the breakthrough research to engineer bakerโ€™s yeast to produce some of the most complex and valuable medicines known. Under her leadership, Antheia's advanced biosynthesis platform enables new possibilities for drug discovery and efficient, sustainable, transparent, and on-demand drug manufacturing at scale. Her vision and accomplishments have garnered numerous awards, including the Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, NIH Directorโ€™s Pioneer Award, Natureโ€™s 10, Novozymes Award for Excellence in Biochemical Engineering, and TR35 Award.

Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure
Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure
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Blue watercolor splatter
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Reagan

Jarvis

Anocca AB

CEO, Co-founder

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Alex

Rives

CZI Biohub

Head of Science

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Karenโ€ฏ

Akinsanya

Schrodinger

President, R&D โ€“ Therapeutics

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Christopher

Arendt

Takeda

CSO, Head of Research

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Stef

van Grieken

Cradle

CEO

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Michael

Koeris

DARPA

Director, BTO

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Jennifer

Dionne

Pumpkinseed

CEO

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Daniyal

Hussain

GSK

Exec. Dir., Tech BD

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Cynthia

Hong

Novartis

Dir., Search & Evaluation

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Sarah Lynn

Tao

CSL Behring

Sr. Dir., S&E; Ig TA & Tech Lead

Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure
Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure
Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure
Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure
Blue watercolor illustration of a folded protein structure

SynBioBeta 2027 May 3-6, San Jose, California