Here is an important conversation among synthetic biology innovators to explore how the synthetic biology industry can help respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. This town hall style webinar provides an update from some of the front-line thinkers and doers tackling the technical and social challenges to preventing a global pandemic. Everyone is welcome, and if you’re also working on COVID-19, we invite you to join and we’ll try to give everyone a minute to share their diverse perspectives.

• Trevor Martin, Co-Founder and CEO of Mammoth Biosciences, on ultra-rapid development of CRISPR based COVID-19 testing

• Jake Glanville, Founding Partner and CEO of Distributed Bio, on developing vaccines for coronavirus and the next pandemic

• Megan Palmer, Senior Research Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), on proactive approaches for health security in synthetic biology

Your host:John Cumbers, Founder & CEO, SynBioBetaSaturday, March 7, 9:00 – 10:00 am PacificBackground: A number of synthetic biology companies are racing to fight coronavirus. But according to NIH, it could take a year and a half before a vaccine is ready for people. What’s more, the White House acknowledgesthere is a shortfall in the number of testing kits required to meet demand. This town hall style webinar will bring together leading innovators and thinkers to explore what the synthetic biology community can contribute to an effective COVID-19 response. We’ll explore ultra-rapid development of CRISPR- based diagnostics, the vaccine pathway and efforts to develop universal vaccines, and what policies and practices can promote global health security during this and future outbreaks.