SynBioBeta Speaker

Gary Abel

Fourth Eon Bio

Principal Scientist

Gary Abel is founder and principal scientist at Fourth Eon Bio, which is developing methods for adaptive biosecurity screening and function-based threat detection. He is also a contributing scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, supporting the Center’s work to understand and mitigate global biological risks from advanced AI. Previously he spent five years at Omniome and PacBio developing a DNA sequencing platform. His expertise spans biochemistry, molecular biophysics, and biosecurity, with nearly two decades studying how biomolecules behave and interact. Gary holds a BS in Physics from San Jose State University and a PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from the University of California Merced.

Sessions Featuring

Gary

This Year

Breakout Session

•

4:30 PM

-

5:15 PM

Business of Biology

Synthesis Screening in the Age of Powerful AI

As AI reshapes what's possible in biology, biosecurity needs to keep up. Nucleic acid synthesis screening, which checks what's being ordered and by whom, is one of the field's most important lines of defense. But as AI capabilities advance, the screening infrastructure needs to evolve with them. This panel brings together leaders from the Sequence Biosecurity Risk Consortium, Fourth Eon Bio, SecureDNA, and BioTrust to discuss how sequence and customer screening are adapting to a new threat landscape.

Featuring

Jacob Beal

RTX BBN Technologies

Engineering Fellow

Gary Abel

Fourth Eon Bio

Principal Scientist

Kirsten Engel

SecureDNA

Dir. Strat. Partnerships & Client Rel.

Jonas Sandbrink

Sentinel Bio

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Tessa Alexanian

IBBIS

Technical Lead

Breakout Session

•

4:30 PM

-

5:15 PM

Business of Biology

Synthesis Screening in the Age of Powerful AI

As AI reshapes what's possible in biology, biosecurity needs to keep up. Nucleic acid synthesis screening, which checks what's being ordered and by whom, is one of the field's most important lines of defense. But as AI capabilities advance, the screening infrastructure needs to evolve with them. This panel brings together leaders from the Sequence Biosecurity Risk Consortium, Fourth Eon Bio, SecureDNA, and BioTrust to discuss how sequence and customer screening are adapting to a new threat landscape.

Featuring

Jacob Beal

RTX BBN Technologies

Engineering Fellow

Gary Abel

Fourth Eon Bio

Principal Scientist

Kirsten Engel

SecureDNA

Dir. Strat. Partnerships & Client Rel.

Jonas Sandbrink

Sentinel Bio

Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Tessa Alexanian

IBBIS

Technical Lead

Previous Speakers Include