Dr. Craig Venter is the President of the Center for the Advancement of Genomics. He is the former President and Founder of Celera Genomics. Dr. Venter has played a leading and vital role in sequencing and analyzing the human genome. This work has produced not only a once unimaginable body of knowledge, but also an intriguing array of questions for further inquiry and discovery. His accomplishments in decoding the genetic sequences of other organisms, particularly the fruit fly and mouse, have also provided important scientific insights, including a new understanding of the genetic relationship between species as well as human evolution. He has published over 200 research articles and is among the most frequently cited scientists in biology and medicine.

He earned his Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of California at San Diego and became a researcher at the National Institutes of Health. While serving first as a Section Chief and then as a Lab Chief in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, he developed expressed sequence tags, a revolutionary new strategy for gene discovery. In 1992, he and his wife, Dr. Claire Fraser, founded The Institute for Genomic Research known, where he served as President and Chief Scientific Officer until 1998. Dr. Venter and his team decoded the genome of the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, making it the first free-living organism to have its full DNA deciphered and to date have sequenced over 30 genomes.

Dr. Venter is the President and Chairman of three not-for-profit organizations: the Center for the Advancement of Genomics, the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives, and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation.

Dr. Venter is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and scientific awards. Dr. Venter was also elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Back to award