MEGAN J. PALMER

Founder, Executive Director

Megan’s work seeks to advance practices and policies for the responsible development of biotechnology. She is the founder and executive director of LEAP, which she envisioned while serving as Deputy Director of Policy and Practices for the multi-university Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc). Within this role, Megan led and contributed to projects in safety and security, property rights, and community organization and governance. Megan is now a Senior Research Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University, where she leads a program focused on risk governance in biotechnology and other emerging technologies. She has held positions as the William J. Perry Fellow in International Security at CISAC, a research scientist at the University of California Berkeley, and a postdoctoral scholar in Bioengineering at Stanford University. Megan advises organizations in industry, academia and government on their approach to issues in biotechnology policy, including leading safety and responsible innovation programs with the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. She holds a PhD in biological engineering from MIT and a BScE in engineering chemistry from Queen’s University, Canada.

JEREMY KAMO

Finance Director

Jeremy’s expertise is in designing and managing open innovation programs and convening complex systems to identify and implement solutions to hard challenges. Jeremy’s portfolio spans both private and public clients, including managing accelerators for Nike, USAID, the US Department of State, NASA, IKEA and Australia’s DFAT through LAUNCH.org; launching the inaugural Solar Decathlon program in China with Applied Materials; developing early education markets in the US with the Kellogg and Packard Foundations; and working with PEMEX to reduce emissions from flaring and venting. Jeremy also sits on the board of Included.org, an international nonprofit that builds more inclusive communities for migrants in urban slums globally through community centers, education and advocacy

VRUNDA RATHOD

Program Director

Vrunda Rathod has years of innovation and health policy experience. With LEAP, Vrunda helped design and implement the second iteration of the fellowship program. Previously, Vrunda worked for US Congresswoman Diane Watson as a legislative aide focusing on both national and global health care, foreign affairs and environmental policy. She led the Congresswoman’s global health policy on issues including IP, foreign aid, and programmatic developments. When the Congresswoman retired, she decided to move back to California and spent time consulting for Kaiser Permanente until an exciting opportunity in Liberia came along. She worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative to research maternal and newborn deaths in the country. Her research helped the country win a multi-million-dollar grant focused on improving maternal care in the country. She is currently working to bring a low-cost treatment for postpartum hemorrhage to low-income countries. Vrunda holds an undergraduate degree from USC in biomedical engineering and a graduate degree in biomedical science policy from Georgetown University.

JAMES BROWN

UK Partnership Director

James Brown is a principal scientist with Cambridge Consultants where he works with clients to understand the business opportunities and applications for synthetic biology and realistic routes to market. James previously served as Director of the UK’s Synthetic Biology Special interest Group (SIG). The SIG helps catalyze the establishment of a synthetic biology industry in the UK through knowledge and technology transfer, and as Secretariat to UK’s Synthetic Biology Leadership Council, supports the implementation of the UK’s Strategic Roadmap. James previously worked in Microsoft Research’s Biological Computation Group. He was an iGEM Ambassador during the formative years of the competition, and was an advisor to the University of Cambridge iGEM team from 2007 through 2010, including when the team won the Grand Prize in 2009. He helped to organize Bio SysBio conference series and led the 2012 Cambridge BioDesign Forum. James hold a PhD in synthetic biology and self-organizing systems from the University of Cambridge, where he developed tools for the design and characterization of a new generation of genetic circuits. He also hold an MA and MEng from the University of Cambridge.

BRADEN BROOK
SUZANNE MOLINARO
ROBERT NOAKES
ELIZABETH STEWART
Website Design and Production

AASHA JOSHI
Program Evaluator

TODD KUIKEN
Facilitator and Host

DAVID KONG
Alumni Program Advisor, Photographer

DANIEL GRUSHKIN
Program Advisor, Journalist in Residence

GABRIEL HARP
Workshop Facilitator

KAREN INGRAM
Designer

GILLIAN MCGARVEY
Editor

PIERS MILLETT
Leadership Workshop Facilitator

RACHEL OLNEY
Editing Assistant

LEXIE ROSS
Workshop Facilitator, Rapporteur

ISHAN SHAPIRO
Workshop Facilitator