Dr. John Cumbers is a leader in the synthetic biology industry, known for founding SynBioBeta, a global community of innovators dedicated to advancing the field. He hosts the global synthetic biology conference and publishes the weekly industry newsletter. He wrote the book “What’s Your Biostrategy?” And was a senior contributor for Forbes.com, where he wrote about biomanufacturing and synthetic biology. Dr. Cumbers has founded multiple startups and is a former operating partner at DCVC, a deep tech investment fund.

He worked at NASA for 7 years in the areas of synthetic biology, bioengineering and planetary sustainability. His latest startup is the Biological Enlightenment Studios, which is creating an animation called Lee’s Lab to popularize molecular biology for children. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Brown University, a master’s degree in bioinformatics from the University of Edinburgh. Originally from the UK, he now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.