Seminar: Adventures in Applied Biology: Molecular Ticker Tapes, Self-Healing Roads, Global Health, and More

Abstract:

Dr. Brad Zamft currently is a Program Officer in the Discovery & Translational Sciences Division at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, working to imagine, identify, and invest in technologies to fundamentally shift how drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics are created for those most in need. His current focus is on developing tools to investigate the host-pathogen interactions that make diarrhea so devastating to children in low income countries. Dr. Zamft will give a broad overview of the Gates Foundation and how metrics and projects are defined, and discuss his current focus on improving childhood diarrhea morbidity and mortality through applied biology. Dr. Zamft will also discuss his previous research at Harvard Medical School, which aimed to create a genetically encoded and therefore scalable neural recording device, as well as his work as a DOE ARPA-E Fellow, where he worked on a variety of projects including self-healing infrastructure, precision agriculture and biofuel production.