Meet 10 Amazing Women Telling The Stories Of Synthetic Biology

Synthetic Biology is a relatively new field, and like all new fields, its goals and methods can be easily misinterpreted or misrepresented. For a technology that is threatening to disrupt almost every area of our lives, public perception is key, and it is essential to communicate the full spectrum of capabilities of synthetic biology – both its potential to make good in the world and the immense power and responsibility that come with it.

This is the important job of synthetic biology marketers, communicators, and advocates who help us, the general public, understand how biology can transform the way we source rare medicines and fragrances, what our packaging and clothes are made out of, what it means when we use renewable feedstocks or upcycle waste materials, and why we need to switch to new ways of making things that are better for us – and for our environment. As they teach us about the cutting-edge innovations made possible with synthetic biology, we should learn who they are, and you can do so at the SynBioBeta conference happening on May 23-25 in Oakland, CA, where many of them will be speaking.

These 10 women are helping tell the fascinating, mind-bending, inspirational – and sometimes bizarre – stories of synthetic biology. And through those stories, they inspire us to try new things, change our behaviors as consumers, and help us imagine a world built with biology.

Christina Agapakis, Creative Director, Ginkgo Bioworks

Christina Agapakis is a synthetic biology maverick. For the last 8 years, she has been a Creative Director at Ginkgo Bioworks and starting in 2019 an Executive Editor of GROW by Ginkgo, Ginkgo’s creative outlet that seeks to tell stories about the beauty and intricacy of biology. As Ginkgo’s Creative Director, Agapakis took the sterile, white-coat-clad lab aesthetic that early biotechnology companies had adopted and made it explode with colors and organic shapes more representative of “biology” than “synthetic”.

As an industry brand ambassador, Agapakis cares about design, communications, ethics, and the perception of synthetic biology. Her quest is to answer the question of what synthetic biology means in a world that is yearning for more naturalness and to dissolve the boundary between nature and technology. And not just nature and technology, but also culture, politics, and social issues that are deeply intertwined in the discourse about synthetic biology that she leads as the head of Ginkgo Sociotechnical Studio, a multidisciplinary team designing and communicating the future of synthetic biology.

Suzanne Lee, Founder & CEO, Biofabricate

Some of the most cutting-edge bio-based materials innovation is happening at the intersection of fashion and synthetic biology, thanks to the efforts of a biomaterials pioneer Suzanne Lee. She has been growing microbial materials for fashion since 2003 and coined the term ‘Biocouture™’. First, as a Chief Creative Officer of Modern Meadow, the maker of lab-grown leather, and now at Biofabricate, Lee is transforming the way we source materials for fashion, sports, interiors, and construction.

Biofabricate’s NYC-based team is helping shepherd these amazing technologies into mass markets by educating investors, startups, and brands about the biofabrication landscape, prototyping and showcasing new products, crafting brand strategy, and connecting the synthetic biology and fashion industries in new ways.

Angela Bitting, Chief ESG Officer & SVP Corporate Affairs, Twist Bioscience

As Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief ESG Officer at Twist Bioscience, Angela prides herself on carrying culture and communication throughout the organization as well as spearheading the efforts to support implementing and advancing the company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. For example, just last month Twist joined the UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative based in over 160 countries. Bitting is in charge of handling investor relations as well as external and internal communications detailing the impact of Twists’ powerful technology and its ongoing efforts in biosecurity, DNA data storage, and viral surveillance programs.

Ana Arakelian, Head of Public Relations & Communications, Conagen

Ana Arakelian is single-handedly leading Conagen’s communications, media relations strategy, and marketing for brand support and engagement. And it is not a trivial task being the voice of a company that does so much: from making fermentation-derived Vitamin K2 and sustainable nutritional ingredients, like vanilla and taurine, to introducing the first fermentation-made Tyrian purple dye for luxury textiles and bringing to life natural, sustainable, and affordable scents.

Nina Reyes, Director of Communications, Checkerspot

Nina Reyes is truly inspirational, not only as a science communicator leading Checkerspot’s outstanding efforts but as a human being. Reyes is passionate about democratizing renewable materials and exciting people who want to be part of the movement away from petroleum and towards bio-materials. Recently, she accepted the SXSW Innovation Award in Design for the Pollinator Kit, a polyurethane casting kit that is Checkerspot’s gateway offering for DIY enthusiasts who want to experiment with bio-based materials.

Checkerspot uses algae to produce molecular building blocks that can be turned into new materials with unique physical properties. And they don’t stop there: the company has come out with high-performance sustainable versions of products typically made from petroleum, like WNDR Alpine skis.

Outside of Checkerspot, Reyes engages with organizations promoting education and inclusive global community by serving as a board advisor of Make A Difference Now and volunteering at affordable housing organizations.

Megan Palmer, Senior Director of Public Impact, Ginkgo Bioworks

Megan Palmer is a powerhouse. She is Senior Director of Public Impact at Ginkgo, where she leads efforts to ensure that biological engineering is developed with care, as well as Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford, iGEM Advisor, and serves on the Board of Directors at a conservation non-profit Revive & Restore. Before joining Ginkgo, she was Executive Director of Bio Policy & Leadership Initiatives at Stanford where she led conversations about important topics such as biosecurity and how biological science and engineering is shaping our society. She also co-chairs the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology.

Sarah Evanega, Lead for Stakeholder Communication, Pairwise

Sarah Evanega pioneered innovative approaches to science communication while exploring the controversy around genetically engineered crops in developing countries and championing advocacy to ensure that gene editing tools can be used by plant scientists to address climate change, global hunger, and other pressing issues. Evanega serves as Lead for Stakeholder Communications at Pairwise, an innovative food start-up based in North Carolina. She was the founder and director of the Alliance for Science, a global communications effort that promotes evidence-based decision-making in agriculture.

For this and other endeavors, Evanega recently won the Mary Clutter Service in Science Public Service Award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to plant science and public policy leadership.

Kit McDonnell, Director of Communications, LanzaTech

Kit McDonnell is the new Director of Communications at LanzaTech, a revolutionary carbon capture company that uses microbes to regenerate pollution into everything from jet fuel to running shorts. And this is not an overstatement, as H&M just put out an athletic apparel line made from recycled waste gas fabrics using technology that LanzaTech developed. Trained as a systems biologist, McDonnell operates at the intersection of biotech, design, and sustainability. Before LanzaTech, she worked as Director of Corporate Affairs at a Gates Foundation-backed ag-tech startup Enko Chem and led projects across the Creative, Commercial, and Capital Investments Teams at Ginkgo Bioworks where she created and produced the company’s annual meeting Ferment and launched Ferment TV.

Julianna LeMieux, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, GEN

Julianna LeMieux is a storyteller in the most literal sense. She works as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) where she covers topics from sustainable cosmetics to novel vaccines. She is also a microbiology instructor at City College of New York (CUNY) specializing in infectious diseases. As a science communicator with over fifteen years of experience in scientific research and education, LeMieux can explain complicated scientific topics to a wide variety of audiences.

Michelle Miller, SVP Global Marketing, K18 Hair

For Michelle Miller, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at K18 Hair, being “a leader in fast growth comes down to being a leader in culture.” She specializes in fast-growth beauty brands, and what that means for K18 is disseminating their innovative bio-inspired products to the masses. Miller has held high-impact roles at major brands like Estee Lauder, Too Faced Cosmetics, Kosas, Luxury Brand Partners, and IGK Hair and was named Glossy’s Top Beauty & Fashion Marketer for her incredible efforts at K18.

With so much talent, so much passion, and drive, the stories of synthetic biology come to live in the hands and mouths of these communicators, marketers, founders, and thought leaders. And it is more likely than not that these stories will help spread synthetic biology innovation like contagion.

Thank you to Katia Tarasava for additional research and reporting on this article. I’m the founder of SynBioBeta and some of the companies I write about, including Checkerspot, Conagen, Ginkgo Bioworks, K18 Hair, LanzaTech, and Twist Bioscience are sponsors of the SynBioBeta conference and weekly digest.