George Church

George Church, a geneticist, molecular engineer, chemist, and serial entrepreneur, leads Synthetic Biology at the Wyss Institute, where he oversees the directed evolution of molecules, polymers, and whole genomes to create new tools with applications in regenerative medicine and bio-production of chemicals. Among his recent work at the Wyss is the development of a technology for synthesizing whole genes and engineering whole genomes, which are far faster, more accurate, and less costly than current methods. Church is also the Robert Winthrop Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and a Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Church is widely recognized for his innovative contributions to genomic science and his many pioneering contributions to chemistry and biomedicine. In 1984, he developed the first direct genomic sequencing method, which resulted in the first genome sequence (the human pathogen, H. pylori). He helped initiate the Human Genome Project in 1984 and the Personal Genome Project in 2005. His lab has made significant contributions to "next-generation sequencing" methods and companies, and he has co-founded around 50 biotech companies through his Harvard lab, including Veritas Genetics and its European and Latin American subsidiary, Veritas Intercontinental, and Nebula Genomics, a personal genomics company.

Church invented the broadly applied concepts of molecular multiplexing and tags, homologous recombination methods, and array DNA synthesizers. His many innovations have been the basis for several companies, including Editas (Gene therapy), Gen9bio (Synthetic DNA), and Veritas Genetics (full human genome sequencing). Church co-invented nanopore sequencing and initiated the Personal Genome Project, with his lab exploring a range of research projects in various areas of biology, including genomics, gene therapy, diagnostics, and space biology.

As a prominent figure in the scientific community, Church was listed in the Time 100 as one of the most influential people in the world in 2017. He serves as a member of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' Board of Sponsors and the Research Advisory Board of the SENS Research Foundation. He has received numerous awards, including the 2011 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science from the Franklin Institute, and he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering. Church also authored the New Scientist's "top science book," "Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves," with Ed Regis, and he regularly contributes to Edge.org publications and videos.