We invite you to a two-day symposium, October 13–14, 2026, that will gather leading minds from across the scientific community. The symposium will honor Dr. Venter’s lifetime of historic achievements in human genomics, synthetic biology, and environmental genomics, and will explore the future of genomic science.
You are also invited to a gala following the symposium on the evening of October 14 — what would have been Dr. Venter’s 80th birthday.
RegisterLegacy Fund
Symposium Leadership
Chairs: Mark Adams and Jack Gilbert
Scientific Committee: Mark Adams, Jack Gilbert, John Glass, Sanjay Vashee, Anders Dale, Sorin Istrail, Amalio Telenti, Stephen Scherer, Barry Merriman, Dan Gibson, Susan Taylor, Leigh Peterson, Laura Stankiewicz, Martine Rothblatt, and Heather Kowalski
Symposium Schedule
Two days at The US Grant Hotel in San Diego. Talk titles and speakers are being finalized and this schedule will be updated as details are confirmed.
Day 1 · Tuesday, October 13
From Early Discovery to the Human Genome & Beyond
Buffalo, UCSD · NIH & TIGR · Celera · Human Longevity Inc. · Diploid Genomics
Morning Session
8:00 – 8:10 am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Mark Adams, PhD — The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT
Overview of the symposium schedule
8:10 – 8:40 am
A Life in Science: The Drive That Reshaped Genomics
Mark Adams, PhD — The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, CT
Personal reflections on Venter’s trajectory from UCSD to Celera
8:40 – 9:00 am
UCSD Beginnings: Adrenaline Receptors & the Spark of Discovery
Susan Taylor, PhD
Biochemistry origins and early receptor pharmacology
9:00 – 9:20 am
Craig in Buffalo and Beyond
George Poste, DVM, PhD, DSc — Del E. Webb Chair in Health Innovation and Director, Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative, Arizona State University
Personal reflections on Venter’s trajectory from Buffalo and beyond
9:20 – 9:50 am
The TIGR Era
Jonathan A. Eisen, PhD — University of California, Davis Genome Center, Department of Evolution and Ecology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
The Celera Era & the Race for the Human Genome
10:00 – 10:30 am
Celera Genomics & the Race to Sequence the Human Genome
Gene Myers, PhD
Whole-genome shotgun strategy and the White House announcement
10:30 – 11:00 am
Algorithms Are the Make-or-Break of Genomics
Sorin Istrail, PhD
Computational Haplotyping and the Haplotype Phasing Problem, Whole Genome Shotgun Assembly and Comparison of Human Genome Assemblies, and Comparative Immuno-Peptidomics of Humans and their Pathogens
11:00 – 11:20 am
Pioneering the Genomics of Malaria Parasites and Anopheles gambiae and Personalized Medicine and Having a Good Time at Sea
Stephen L. Hoffman, MD, DTMH — Sanaria Inc.
Afternoon Session — Personal Genomics to Population-Scale Medicine, Policy and Bioethics
12:20 – 12:50 pm
Human Longevity Inc. & the Science Behind It
Amalio Telenti, MD, PhD — Trail Biomed
Building the genomic and phenomic database, and what it revealed about aging and disease
12:50 – 1:20 pm
Genotype–Phenotype at Scale: Linking Variants to Human Traits
Anders Dale, PhD
Machine learning and AI, whole-body imaging, and precision medicine findings
1:20 – 1:50 pm
Precision Medicine at Scale: Clinical Outcomes from Whole-Genome Sequencing
Robert Loughnan, PhD — J. Craig Venter Institute and Diploid Genomics, Inc.
Actionable findings, incidental discoveries, and population health insights
2:10 – 2:40 pm
Genetic Counseling and Patient Experience in the Personalized Genomics Era
Lisa Madlensky, PhD, CGC — UCSD Department of Medicine/Division of Genomics and Precision Medicine, and Director, Cancer Genetics clinic at Moores UCSD Cancer Center
2:40 – 3:10 pm
Whole Genome Sequencing Advancing Medicine: Realizing J. Craig Venter’s Vision
Stephen W. Scherer, PhD, DSc — The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto
3:10 – 3:40 pm
From the Human Genome to Routine Clinical Genome Sequencing Today
Martin G. Reese, PhD — Former CEO, Fabric Genomics
4:10 – 4:40 pm
A Life Decoded and Then Built
Kate Adamala, PhD — University of Minnesota and Biotic
4:40 – 5:10 pm
Sorcerer II: Permitting, Crew Experience and Filming the MoviePanel
David Conover
Charlie Howard — Captain of Sorcerer II for the Global Sampling Expedition
Jeff Hoffman — Expedition Scientist, J. Craig Venter Institute
Karla Heidelberg, PhD
Day 2 · Wednesday, October 14
Synthetic Life & the Global Ocean
Synthetic genomics · The first synthetic cell · Xenotransplantation · Sorcerer II Expedition
Morning Session — Creating Life & Engineering Biology
8:00 – 8:10 am
Day 2 Opening Remarks
Jack A. Gilbert, PhD — UC San Diego
Review of the day’s schedule
8:10 – 8:40 am
Writing the Genome: Synthetic Biology & the First Synthetic Cell
John Glass, PhD
JCVI-syn1.0 — from digital sequence to a living, self-replicating organism
8:40 – 9:10 am
The State of Genomics from the Investor Perspective
Michael E. Campbell — Co-Head of Global Diversified Health and Consumer, TD Securities
9:10 – 9:40 am
Realizing Craig’s Vision of Scaling Synthetic Biology
Barry Merriman, PhD — Avery Bio Corporation
10:00 – 10:30 am
Building Life from DNA: From Synthetic Genomes to Synthetic Vaccines and the Digital-to-Biological Converter
Dan Gibson, PhD
A journey with Craig Venter
10:30 – 11:00 am
Expanding Access to the Gift of Life: Xenotransplantation Enters the Clinic
Leigh Peterson, PhD — EVP, Product Development & Xenotransplantation, United Therapeutics Corporation
11:00 – 11:30 am
Building the Future Off Planet with Life
Lynn J. Rothschild, PhD — NASA Ames Research Center, Brown University
Afternoon Session — The Sorcerer II Global Ocean Expedition, Indigenous Populations and Women’s Health
12:30 – 1:00 pm
Microbial Exploration: From Oceans to the Earth and Beyond
Jack A. Gilbert, PhD — UC San Diego
1:00 – 1:20 pm
After Sorcerer II: From Ocean Genomes to Microbial Function
Andrew E. Allen, PhD — J. Craig Venter Institute & University of California, San Diego
1:20 – 1:50 pm
Examining the Societal and Policy Implications of JCVI’s Research: Global Sampling, Synthetic Genomics, Genomics-enabled Applications
Bob Friedman, PhD
2:10 – 2:30 pm
Microbiome
Chris Dupont, PhD
2:30 – 3:00 pm
Diversity in Databases: What Are We Missing?
Keolu Fox, PhD
Indigenous populations
3:00 – 3:30 pm
Beyond the 2%: Why African Genomics Matters
Vanessa M. Hayes, PhD — University of Sydney, Australia
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Women’s Health: Imaging
Rebecca Rakow-Penner, MD, PhD — Associate Professor in Radiology, Bioengineering, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, and Radiation Medicine, University of California San Diego
4:00 – 5:00 pm
Closing Remarks
Reflections from attendees
Questions and Sponsorship
For more information about the symposium, the gala, or sponsorship opportunities, please email JCVsymposium@jcvi.org or contact Jill Mullen at 203-247-4288.