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SynBioBeta Speaker

Moira Gunn

Tech Nation + BioTech Nation

Host

Dr. Moira Gunn is perhaps best known as the host of BioTech Nation podcast, a regular segment of the public radio program, Tech Nation, which airs weekly on NPR affiliates. A former NASA computer scientist and engineer, Dr. Gunn is also the Founder and Director of Bioentrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco. Among her recognitions, the National Science Board awarded her its Public Service Award to the Individual for “increasing the Understanding of Science and Engineering”. She received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Science from Purdue University. Purdue has also honored Gunn with an Honorary Doctorate in Science. In 2025, Dr. Gunn received the SynBioBeta Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sessions Featuring

Moira

This Year

Fireside Chat

9:40 AM

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10:00 AM

Human Health

From Therapeutics to Consumer Applications: How Brain Computer Interfaces are About to Become the Next Major Platform Technology

Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) hold immense promise to help restore critical functions now for individuals with neurological conditions, severe speech impairments, and paralysis. Over the last thirty-five years, major advancements in artificial intelligence, brain mapping, and material sciences are laying the foundation for a future where BCI-enabled augmented experience is as common as accessing the internet or using a mobile phone. Join Paradromics CEO Matt Angle, PhD to discuss the latest on neurotechnology today, as well as expansive future BCI applications.

Fireside Chat

9:40 AM

-

10:00 AM

Human Health

From Therapeutics to Consumer Applications: How Brain Computer Interfaces are About to Become the Next Major Platform Technology

Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) hold immense promise to help restore critical functions now for individuals with neurological conditions, severe speech impairments, and paralysis. Over the last thirty-five years, major advancements in artificial intelligence, brain mapping, and material sciences are laying the foundation for a future where BCI-enabled augmented experience is as common as accessing the internet or using a mobile phone. Join Paradromics CEO Matt Angle, PhD to discuss the latest on neurotechnology today, as well as expansive future BCI applications.

TBD

Session lineup still growing

Featuring

Speaker Coming Soon

Fireside Chat

12:00 AM

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8:30 AM

Human Health

From Cells to Patients: Solving the Scale Mismatch in Virtual Biology

Drug discovery often measures biology at the cell level while interventions work at the tissue, organ, or whole-patient scale. This mismatch can make accurate cell-level predictions irrelevant in the clinic. This session dives into strategies to bridge that gap: multiscale modeling that nests single-cell dynamics within organ-level simulations, spatial transcriptomics that preserve context, and surrogate models that translate cell-level outputs into clinical biomarkers. Speakers will ask: how do we ensure virtual biology reflects not just what cells do in isolation, but how biology behaves in the real complexity of patients?

Featuring

Speaker Coming Soon

Previous Speakers Include