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April 14, 2026

Agenda

All sessions will be held at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA.
All times are in Pacific Time.

8:00AM - 9:00AM
Traitel Pavilion

Breakfast & Registration

9:00AM - 9:10AM
Hauck Auditorium

Welcome Remarks

Speaker:
Condoleezza Rice - Tad and Dianne Taube Director at the Hoover Institution and the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy

9:10AM - 9:20AM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Briefing: Biology as a Strategic Domain

Speaker:
Drew Endy - Director of Hoover Bio-Strategies & Leadership at Stanford University 

9:20AM - 10:00AM
Hauck Auditorium

Biology for Health

Speakers:
Jennifer Cochran - Vice President for SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and for Strategic Initiatives, Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University
Megan Palmer - Lead for Responsible Innovation at ARPA-H
Grey Frandsen
- CEO of Flyttr

Moderator:
Steve Quake - Lee Otterson Professor of Bioengineering and of Applied Physics at Stanford University, Past Head of Science for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

10:00AM - 10:10AM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Briefing: Artificial Intelligence & Biology

Speaker:
Brian Hie - Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University and Innovation Investigator at Arc Institute

10:10AM - 10:40AM

Coffee Break

10:40AM - 11:20AM
Hauck Auditorium

Biosecurity Victory

Speakers:
Matt McKnight - CEO of Perimeter 
Gerald Parker - Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Biosecurity and Pandemic Response & Associate Dean for Global One Health at the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University
Jaime Yassif - Senior Advisor and former Bio Vice President for the Nuclear Threat Initiative

Moderator:
Filippa Lentzos - Associate Professor at King’s College London

11:20AM - 11:30AM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Briefing: Synthetic Cells

Speaker:
Kate Adamala - Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota

11:30AM - 12:10PM
Hauck Auditorium

Biology for National Security

Speakers:
Matt Pottinger - Former Deputy National Security Advisor and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Kerri Dugan - Senior Vice President for Biotechnology at Applied Research Institute and former director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA 
Padmini Pillai - Special Asst to the Director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA

Moderator:
Nadia Schadlow - National Security Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution

12:10PM - 1:10PM
Blount Hall

Lunch

1:10PM - 1:20PM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Briefing: Biotechnology in Us

Speaker:
Zack Abbott - CEO and Co-Founder of ZBiotics 

1:20PM - 2:00PM
Hauck Auditorium

Biology for Science & Technology Competitiveness

Speakers:
Emily Leproust - CEO and Co-Founder of Twist Bioscience
Sam Rodriques - CEO and Co-Founder of FutureHouse
Sam Levin - Co-Founder and CTO of Neion Bio

Moderator:
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall - Former United States Homeland Security Advisor & Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs 

2:00PM - 2:10PM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Briefing: Biotechnology Around Us

Speaker:
Keith Wood - CEO and Co-Founder of Light Bio

2:10PM - 2:50PM
Hauck Auditorium

Bio-Opportunities Across the Nation

Speakers:
Doug Friedman - Founder and CEO of BioMADE
Lee Lilley - Secretary of Commerce for the State of North Carolina
Natalie Kuldell - Founder and President of BioBuilder Educational Foundation
Deborah Moorad - Secretary of Commerce for the State of Oklahoma 

Moderator:
Emily Clise Tully -  Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Vice President of National Technology Strategy at In-Q-Tel

2:50PM - 3:20PM

Break

3:20PM - 4:00PM
Hauck Auditorium

Biotech Innovation, Investment, and Industry

Speakers:
Christina Smolke - CEO & Co-Founder of Antheia
Matt Kaloupek - Vice President of Carbon Capture and Storage for ADM
Jenny Rooke - Managing Director of Genoa Ventures

Moderator:
Mike Kuiken - Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Vice Chair of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 

4:00PM - 4:20PM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Fireside: Biology for Freedom and Democracy

Speakers:
Stephen Kotkin - Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and Birkelund Professor Emeritus at the former Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
Drew Endy - Director of Hoover Bio-Strategies & Leadership at Stanford University 

4:20PM - 4:30PM
Hauck Auditorium

Flash Briefing: Biology, Nitrogen, and Geopolitics

Speaker:
Tim Schnabel - Founder and CEO of Switch Bioworks 

4:30PM - 4:50PM
Hauck Auditorium

Closing Remarks

Speaker:
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Paul Friedrichs - RAND Senior Biopreparedness Fellow and former Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy
Markus Covert - Shriram Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University

4:50PM - 6:30PM
Fairweather Courtyard

Reception