A pioneer in the world of genomic research, J. Craig Venter is one of the most controversial figures in science today. He joined the National Institutes of Health in 1984, where he introduced novel techniques for rapid gene discovery. He left in 1991 to establish his own nonprofit genomics research center, where he sequenced the first genome in history. In 1998, he announced that he would successfully sequence the first human genome, which he did in 2001.

Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture