SynBioBeta Speaker
Paul Sheehan
Program Manager
ARPA-H
May 2026, SynBioBeta
Speaker
Paul E. Sheehan, Ph.D., is a program manager and scientific leader whose career focuses on turning bold ideas into technologies that transform health and society. Trained as a chemical physicist at Harvard University, where his work on nanoscale materials produced multiple landmark Science papers and recognition in the U.S. President’s State of the Union, he has built a rare, deeply interdisciplinary portfolio spanning synthetic biology, bioelectronics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and ecology.At ARPA-H, Dr. Sheehan was among the first program managers recruited to help stand up the agency. In his first year, he rapidly launched programs that are already moving into the clinic and producing high impact publications. His current portfolio ranges from countering antimicrobial resistance and sepsis to biohybrid and ingestible electronics and AI enabled biomanufacturing. A hallmark of his approach is ecosystem-building: he convenes annual technology summits and Biohybrid Summits that bring together researchers, patients, ethicists, regulators, funders, and industry—helping establish a template for community-driven, high-risk, high reward research.Previously, as a program manager at DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, his efforts reframed persistent challenges, such as using ultrafast phenotyping to detect pathogenic behavior, creating bioelectronic bandages for active wound healing, advancing AI for point-of-care ultrasound, and engineering synthetic ecologies to benefit health and the environment. These programs have transitioned to government partners, seeded multiple companies, and accelerated translation of disruptive technologies.
All Categories
