Rodney Eric Williams

Rodney Eric Williams is a Science Policy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC). Prior to EBRC he briefly served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He completed his PhD in Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with Dr. Diane E. Griffin. His research focused on investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive neurological dysfunction during mosquito-borne viral infections to identify potential therapeutic targets.

Outside of the lab at Hopkins, Rodney served as president of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Graduate Student Association, as a Johns Hopkins Science Policy Fellow, and as a Graduate Policy Advisor to the Office of the Provost. He also served as a Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellow with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).

When he is not working, Rodney loves to explore the outdoors, go for walks around the water, and attend the symphony.

EBRC 2026 Annual Meeting

Agenda

Program Book

 

Our 2026 Annual Meeting will be held June 2-3, 2026 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC!

The EBRC Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for the engineering biology community to come together to engage on matters important to advancing engineering biology. In addition to inspiring research talks and poster presentations, EBRC’s meeting holds time to consider the larger engineering biology research ecosystem in which we all exist and work together to move the field forward. We invite you to join us to present and discuss your latest research, build relationships with your colleagues in academia, industry, and government, and advance the member-driven work of EBRC. Attendance at the Annual Meeting is open to all EBRC members, their lab members, employees of institutional members, and all SPA members. We also warmly welcome all those in the Research Triangle with an interest in engineering biology to join us. Thank you to our hosts at the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at North Carolina State University!

This year, we are excited to celebrate EBRC’s 10-year anniversary! Additional activities, sessions, and social mixers will also be held throughout the Research Triangle on June 1, 2026, the day before the meeting; look forward to more information about these industry- and SPA-dedicated events coming soon!

New session! Before the main meeting kicks off, please join us for “Advancing the Bioeconomy Industry Ecosystem” on June 1 from 3:30-7:30pm ET to continue to celebrate EBRC’s 10 Year Anniversary. The event will bring together representatives from government and venture capital alongside EBRC’s academic and research community. The session will explore how promising ideas in engineering biology move from the lab into the real world across the broader industry ecosystem, featuring a keynote style talk, moderated panel discussion, 3-minute flash talks, and close with a social mixer. Space is limited, so sign up here (separate link from normal registration)! (If you’re interested in giving a flash talk, please indicate so on the form.)

Registration:
The deadline to register has passed. To confirm your spot and offset some of the meal costs, there will be a nominal fee. If this fee is prohibitive for you or your lab members, please email helix@ebrc.org.

Abstract submissions for talks and posters are now open. Abstract submission is separate from registration. Submissions from all attendees are welcome! We encourage you to submit your latest, ongoing work as a mechanism to engage in community dialogue. Abstracts for talks are due March 30, 2026 and abstracts for posters are due on May 11, 2026.

IMPORTANT DATES:
March 30, 2026: Last day to submit talk abstracts
April 20, 2026: Notification of talk selection
April 29, 2026: Registration closes for those with EBRC-supported travel
May 1, 2026: Deadline for hotel and travel arrangements by EBRC
May 14, 2026: Registration closes
May 11, 2026: Last day to submit poster abstracts

Annual Meeting Venue:
Talley Student Union
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC

Meeting Hotel:
*Update* — Our block of rooms at the Residence Inn Raleigh Downtown (616 S. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27601) is now fully booked. We suggest you reach out to these nearby hotels if you need accommodations: Raleigh Marriott City Center, Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, Homewood Suites by Hilton Raleigh Downtown, and Tempo by Hilton Raleigh Downtown.

Transportation:
More information coming soon!

Travel Support:
We anticipate covering airfare and hotel expenses for:

  • Individuals selected as speakers from academia, including students and postdocs;
  • EBRC Academic Council members selected as Session Chairs; and
  • Student and Postdoc Association Board members who present a poster or are selected as speakers.

Individuals who will receive travel support will be contacted by email to complete their flight bookings. The meeting will conclude at 5:00PM on Wednesday, June 3 and we encourage those receiving travel support to find an evening flight if at all possible. Please contact helix@ebrc.org if you anticipate needing Sunday and/or Wednesday night accommodations. Please also note that travel support does not include the confirmation/meal fee. Email helix@ebrc.org if this fee is prohibitive. Please see EBRC’s full travel policy here.

We encourage you to make your travel plans early, as we will cap the level of airfare support provided by EBRC. Airfare must be booked by May 1 to be eligible for EBRC support.

Health and Safety:
We are committed to hosting a safe event. We will be closely watching CDC recommendations in addition to all relevant local and state guidelines leading up to the Meeting and make any changes necessary for health and safety.

Dress Code:
The EBRC Annual Meeting does not have a dress code. EBRC values diversity and individual expression — we encourage participants to come as they are and wish to present themselves to the world.

Bioinspiration: A Motivation for Investing in Foundational Biological Research in the U.S.

Publication Date: June 2026

Bioinspiration is a growing field that translates biological principles into engineering solutions, often yielding significant returns even from niche research. Bioinspired technologies have the potential to generate billions for the U.S. economy and contribute to millions of jobs in fields including construction, healthcare, and chemical manufacturing. To promote this growth, significant investment must be made in the innovation pipeline from foundational research to commercialization.

New EBRC Publication! Securing the U.S. Bioeconomy: A Managed Access Framework for Biotechnology Innovation

EBRC Science Policy Postdoctoral Fellow Jon Judd has published a new independent policy memo examining federal governance of biological data: Securing the U.S. Bioeconomy: A Managed Access Framework for Biotechnology Innovation.

The U.S. leads in biological data production, but fragmented governance and incompatible formats mean that data sitting in federal repositories today cannot fuel the AI-enabled discoveries the bioeconomy needs.

His memo argues for a managed-access approach and puts forward three recommendations:

  • Congress should authorize a DOE-led federated pilot program anchored at the National Labs to build and test the infrastructure for shared biological data access.
  • NIST should develop a standardized biological data ontology to establish the building blocks for AI-ready data across federal repositories.
  • OSTP should convene an interagency subcommittee to produce a unified data-use agreement, replacing the current patchwork of incompatible access requirements.

The memo reflects input from across the EBRC community and builds on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s call for improved federal biological data infrastructure. We encourage the broader community to read it and share reactions.

Read the full memo here.

Securing the U.S. Bioeconomy: A Managed Access Framework for Biotechnology Innovation

Publication Date: May 2026

Federal biological data is fragmented, siloed, and ungoverned at the moment AI makes integration most consequential. This memo proposes three complementary actions: a DOE-led federated pilot program to unify data access across federal repositories, a NIST-developed biological data ontology to enable machine-readable interoperability, and an OSTP/NSTC interagency subcommittee to replace incompatible agency-specific data-use agreements with a unified, tiered framework. Together, these recommendations build the governance infrastructure the U.S. bioeconomy needs to remain competitive and secure.

Mary Maxon

Advancing the Bioeconomy Industry Ecosystem – an EBRC networking event at SynBioBeta 2026

On the eve of SynBioBeta, come continue to celebrate the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC)’s 10 Year Anniversary of advancing engineering biology to address national and global needs with an evening of conversation, drinks, and light bites.

The event will feature Advancing the Bioeconomy’s Industry Ecosystem, bringing together leaders from the biotechnology industry to explore the challenges and opportunities in derisking the future of engineering biology innovation. It will also highlight how organizations, like EBRC, can serve as a convening platform, giving collective voice to the community’s needs and priorities.

Speakers include:

  • John Dileo, Senior Principal Biotechnologist (MITRE)
  • Rebecca Nugent, Venture Partner (Breakout Ventures)
  • James Diggans, Vice President, Policy and Biosecurity (Twist Bioscience)
  • Alina Meltaus, Chief of Staff (NSCEB)
  • India Hook-Barnard, CEO (EBRC)
  • More speakers TBA!

Panelists will share perspectives on what it takes to scale biotechnology solutions to address real-world challenges, and what they see as the most pressing priorities and exciting opportunities for the engineering biology community in the years to come.

Date and Time
May 4, 2026 from 5:00-8:00pm PT

Location
The Farmers Union
151 W. Santa Clara St
San Jose, CA 95113

Because space is limited, please register to help us plan. Hope to see you there!

Event Flyer

Andrew Arthur

Andrew Arthur brings nearly 30 years of strategic and commercial leadership in the mining industry to his role as CFO and Chief Commercial Development Officer at Endolith. He spent over 20 years at BHP, including a decade as a Vice President across copper strategy, resource engineering, and technical excellence. That tenure included leading strategy and business development for BHP’s copper portfolio from Santiago, Chile, and oversight of legacy asset optimization globally.

Before joining Endolith, Andrew ran his own advisory practice focused on copper legacy assets, working with operators to maximize recovery value and minimize closure risk — precisely the problem set Endolith’s biological intelligence platform is built to solve.

He brings deep expertise in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic planning, and commercial development, and is a qualified accountant. At Endolith, he leads the financial and commercial functions as the company scales deployment with Tier 1 mining partners.

Liz Dennett

Liz Dennett is the founder and CEO of Endolith, a biological intelligence company improving critical mineral recovery in real mining environments. Endolith deploys adaptive microbial systems that integrate with existing heap leach infrastructure to increase copper recovery, with field-validated results from major mining operators including BHP.

Before founding Endolith, Liz was a Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, where she worked on scaling digital infrastructure and developed a clear view of the physical mineral constraints underlying the digital economy. That intersection — between the demand for critical materials and the limits of conventional extraction — became the foundation for Endolith’s approach.

Liz holds a PhD and brings together systems thinking, field deployment experience, and a deep conviction that biology, deployed intelligently, can close the gap between what mines produce and what they’re capable of.

Timmi Turley

Timmi Turley is currently a Principal Analyst at EBRC. Her 20+ years of professional experience spans higher education and research organizations. Her background includes leadership roles in higher education strategy, collaborative research initiatives, directing event and program management, and leading donor engagement programs. Most recently, she was a Special Projects Manager at BioMADE. She has a B.S. in Communication and a M.Ed in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Arizona State University.

Strengthening Safety and Security of Biological Research Globally in Support of the Biological Weapons Convention

This project seeks to support and promote global best practices in biorisk management and research oversight, thereby supporting States Parties’ national Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) implementation efforts. By working with policymakers, senior practitioners, laboratory operations and maintenance (O&M) personnel, and stakeholders across the research lifecycle, EBRC will endeavor to build community to support i) O&M for high containment labs, ii) review and oversight of high-risk research, and iii) the growth of empirically-based biosafety practices.

EBRC Sci Comm Workshop Series: “Communicating Science Effectively”

EBRC is excited to host “Communicating Science Effectively”, an interactive, virtual training series open to all EBRC members! Over the course of three 60-minute sessions, participants will learn research-based theories underlying effective science communication and have the opportunity to apply these principles through hands-on instruction, practice, and feedback. The series will culminate with an in-person session during the EBRC Annual Meeting (register here!). This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in leveling up their communication and engagement skills!

Because the sessions build on one another, participants are expected to attend all three virtual sessions.

Questions? Please feel free to reach out to Julietta (julietta@ebrc.org)!

Register Here

 

Workshop Series Schedule

Session 1: Sci Comm 101 (virtual) | Friday, March 20, 2026 (3 PM ET/12 PM PT)

During this initial session, participants will consider the aim of their communication and go through the basics of effective science communication.

Objectives include:

  • Learn how to define clear communication goals and align messaging with desired outcomes;
  • Explore strategies for identifying and understanding your audience’s background, expectations, and needs; and
  • Understand the basics of ensuring your key points are communicated clearly.

Participants will also engage in interactive discussions to share their communication and engagement goals, challenges, fears, and opportunities.

 

Session 2: Panel Discussion – Applying Sci Comm in Practice (virtual) | Thursday, April 16, 2026 (3 PM ET/12 PM PT)

During this session, a panel of Sci Comm experts across a variety of fields will share their experiences.

Discussion topics include:

  • Finding and knowing your audience—Panelists will share practical strategies for identifying target audiences, understanding their values and needs, and building meaningful connections.
  • The importance of the messenger—Panelists will discuss how credibility, trust, and identity influence how science is received.
  • Creating and delivering effective messages—Panelists will discuss examples of what makes a compelling story.
    Working with journalists, press officers and professional societies

Participants will additionally be invited to actively engage with the panel, ask questions, share perspectives, and seek expert advice relevant to their own science communication experiences.

 

Session 3: Crafting your message (virtual) | Friday, May 15, 2026 (3 PM ET/12 PM PT)

This final session will focus on best practices for communicating evidence and strategies for addressing issues such as uncertainty, biases and presenting numerical information

Objectives include:

  • Best practices for communicating evidence and numbers: what are the issues with using words without numbers, the need to communicate absolute risks, natural frequencies, etc;
  • Learn how to clearly communicate different types of uncertainty;
  • Align uncertainty information to the decision context; and
  • Understand how mental models and cognitive biases may affect people’s understanding of evidence and consider how to use transformative explanations and other communication tactics.

 

Final presentations (in-person) | June 3, 2026 (at the EBRC Annual Meeting)

Participants will prepare a Sci Comm product tailored to a specific audience, topic, and engagement platform (e.g., an Instagram live stream, interview for a local newspaper, a Bluesky thread) to be presented during a live, interactive session at the EBRC Annual Meeting open to all meeting attendees.

This session will offer a unique opportunity for participants to put the skills and strategies learned throughout the workshop series into practice and engage in meaningful dialogue with a broader scientific community.

 

Mia Negru

Mia Negru serves as Executive Director of Life With Artificials, a social engagement platform exploring how humans and intelligent systems coexist in areas such as health, work, governance, and everyday life. Through public dialogue, cross-sector partnerships, and policy-oriented initiatives, she works to connect researchers, innovators, regulators, and citizens—ensuring that emerging technologies evolve in alignment with democratic values, ethical principles, and social responsibility.

She studied International Business and Politics at Copenhagen Business School (CBS), where she built a solid understanding of regulatory systems, institutional decision-making, and public–private collaboration in complex policy environments.

Her passion for frontier innovation led her to engage with programs at Singularity University, deepening her focus on artificial intelligence, robotics, and synthetic biology and their long-term societal implications.

Lasse Helmer Pederson

Lasse Helmer Pedersen is a hands-on technologist and strategic advisor working at the intersection of advanced AI, engineering and health technology. As Strategic Advisor on technology for Zibra Holding ApS, he supports a portfolio of tech ventures with AI strategy, innovation governance, and the design of resilient technology ecosystems. Previously, Lasse served as CTO at MindFuture, where he helped build an innovation hub around real-world, responsible applications of artificial intelligence. A long-time practitioner, he has led technology, product development, and IT organizations across telecoms, infrastructure, and software, giving him a practical understanding of how to move complex technologies from concept to deployment at scale.

Lasse is part of the core team in Life with Artificials, contributing strategic advice on how humans and AI can coexist in ways that are safe, beneficial, and aligned with societal values. He is particularly interested in how cutting-edge AI can accelerate engineering biology and health tech while maintaining robustness, security, and public trust.

Chloe Franklin

Chloe Franklin is Director of National Programs at the BioBuilder Educational Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing students exposure to real-world STEM applications and industry-relevant skills to prepare the largest and most diverse group of learners for colleges and careers in life science. She leads educator training initiatives and the BioBuilderClub, which invites high school students to tackle local and global challenges through synthetic biology with the support of scientific mentors. Chloe holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in educational studies with a focus on inquiry-based science instruction.

Andres Franco

Andres is the Senior Director for Global & Europe, Public Affairs, Communications, & Sustainability at Procter & Gamble (P&G) Beauty. His work focuses on shaping long-term commercial and innovation strategy by providing critical analysis of the external policy, sustainability, and technology landscapes. He specializes in developing public affairs and communication strategies that navigate regulatory challenges and help inform the development of effective, science-based policy. With a diverse background in brand strategy and P&L leadership, Andres is a collaborative leader passionate about fostering public-private partnerships to advance the bioeconomy.

Maya Venkataraman

Maya Venkataraman is a Biotechnology Scientist at Procter & Gamble. Her work focuses on harnessing the powers of natural diversity and engineered microbes to enable sustainable ingredient innovation. Previous to her current role, she received her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from UW-Madison.

Jose Carlos Garcia-Garcia

Dr. Jose Carlos Garcia-Garcia is a Senior Director and Research Fellow at Procter &
Gamble, where he spearheads Corporate Biotechnology within the Disruptive Platforms organization. Originally from Cuba, Dr. Garcia-Garcia obtained his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences as a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow, and later completed his postdoctoral studies and served in the faculty at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

In 2010, when P&G launched its Corporate Biotechnology program, Dr. Garcia-Garcia seized the opportunity to channel his passion for applied research into initiatives that enhance consumer health and wellness. Today, he continues to drive industry-leading biotechnology-enabled innovation at P&G for both consumer well-being and environmental sustainability.

Anneke Kaminski

Anneke Kaminski is currently serving as the R&D Senior Director of Connect + Develop for the Americas at Procter & Gamble. In this role, she is leading the way P&G delivers products, packages, and services leveraging external collaborations with strong eco-system partners across the Americas. Anneke holds a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering, as well as a Master of Science in Polymer and Coatings Chemistry.

Anneke Kaminski has over 25 years of experience with Procter & Gamble, where she has held multiple technical leadership positions. Her experience spans across multiple divisions, including Baby Care, Family Care, and Corporate R&D. She has managed responsibilities ranging from upstream innovation to downstream product delivery, working on brands such as Pampers, Glad, Tide, Charmin, Puffs, and Bounty.

Response to DOE’s Request for Information on Partnerships for Transformational AI Models

Publication Date: January 2026

EBRC’s response to DOE’s Request for Information on Partnerships for Transformational AI Models.