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
Overview of the symposium schedule
8:10 – 8:40 am
A Life in Science: The Drive That Reshaped Genomics
Mark Adams, PhD
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 Eisen, PhD
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
Stephen Hoffman, MD, DTMH
Chief Executive and Scientific Officer, 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
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
Rob Loughnan, PhD
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
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
Policy Discussion: Human Genomics, Global Sampling and Synthetic Biology
Bob Friedman, PhD
4:40 – 5:00 pm
Closing Remarks
Memories and remarks from audience members
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 Gilbert, PhD
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
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
Leigh Peterson, PhD
Executive Vice President of Product Development & Xenotransplantation at United Therapeutics
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 Gilbert, PhD
1:00 – 1:20 pm
Sailing to Sequence the Ocean: The Sorcerer II Expedition
Andy Allen, PhD
Circumnavigating the globe to sample, sequence, and catalogue marine microbial life
1:20 – 1:50 pm
Sorcerer II: Permitting, Crew Experience and Filming the MoviePanel
David Conover; Charlie Howard; Jeff Hoffman; Karla Heidelberg, 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 Hayes, PhD
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Women’s Health: Imaging
Rebecca Rakow-Penner, MD, PhD
4:00 – 5:00 pm
Closing Remarks
Reflections from attendees
Hotels
We have arranged special rates at the hotels below. Reserve by September 12, 2026 to receive the group rate.
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.