48 Facts About Craig Venter

John Craig Venter was born on October 14,1946 and is an American scientist.

Craig Venter is known for leading one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and led the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome.

Craig Venter was the co-founder of Human Longevity Inc and Synthetic Genomics.

Craig Venter was listed on Time magazine's 2007 and 2008 Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

In 2012, Venter was honored with Dan David Prize for his contribution to genome research.

Craig Venter was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2013.

Craig Venter is a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's advisory board.

Craig Venter was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, the son of Elisabeth and John Craig Venter.

Craig Venter's family moved to Millbrae, California during his childhood.

Craig Venter considered that his behavior in his adolescence was indicative of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and later found ADHD-linked genetic variants in his own DNA.

Craig Venter's father died suddenly at age 59 from cardiac arrest, giving him a lifelong awareness of his own mortality.

Craig Venter served from 1967 to 1968 at the Naval Support Activity Danang in Vietnam.

Craig Venter began his college education in 1969 at a community college, College of San Mateo in California, and later transferred to the University of California, San Diego, where he studied under biochemist Nathan O Kaplan.

Craig Venter received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry in 1972 and a Doctor of Philosophy in physiology and pharmacology in 1975 from UCSD.

The short cDNA sequence fragments Craig Venter discovered by automated DNA sequencing, he named expressed sequence tags, or ESTs.

When Craig Venter disclosed the NIH strategy during a Congressional hearing, a firestorm of controversy erupted.

Craig Venter was passionate about the power of genomics to transform healthcare radically.

Craig Venter believed that shotgun sequencing was the fastest and most effective way to get useful human genome data.

Craig Venter viewed the slow pace of progress in the Human Genome project as an opportunity to continue his interest in trying his shotgun sequencing method to speed up the human genome sequencing so when he was offered funding from a DNA sequencing company to start Celera Genomics.

Craig Venter planned to profit from their work by creating genomic data to which users could subscribe for a fee.

Craig Venter's effort won him renown as he and his team at Celera Corporation shared credit for sequencing the first draft human genome with the publicly funded Human Genome Project.

In June 2005, Craig Venter co-founded Synthetic Genomics, a firm dedicated to using modified microorganisms to produce clean fuels and biochemicals.

Craig Venter continues to work on the creation of engineered diatomic microalgae for the production of biofuels.

Craig Venter is seeking to patent the first partially synthetic species possibly to be named Mycoplasma laboratorium.

In May 2010, a team of scientists led by Craig Venter became the first to create successfully what was described as "synthetic life".

On March 25,2016, Craig Venter reported the creation of Syn 3.0, a synthetic genome having the fewest genes of any freely living organism.

Craig Venter will remain as a scientific advisor to the board.

The Craig Venter Institute has out grown its current building with multiple new facility hires and will be moving into new space in 2025.

Some sequences in Craig Venter's genome are associated with wet earwax, increased risk of antisocial behavior, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases.

The Human Reference Genome Browser is a web application for the navigation and analysis of Craig Venter's recently published genome.

Craig Venter said that it plans to sequence 40,000 genomes per year, with an initial focus on cancer genomes and the genomes of cancer patients.

Human Longevity filed a lawsuit in 2018 against Craig Venter, accusing him of stealing trade secrets.

Allegations were made stating that Craig Venter had departed with his company computer that contained valuable information that could be used to start a competing business.

Craig Venter is the author of three books, the first of which is an autobiography titled A Life Decoded.

Craig Venter was applauded for his position on this by futurist Ray Kurzweil.

Craig Venter was 75 when he sold his main research building to UCSD in 2022.

Craig Venter has a home in La Jolla and a ranch in Borrego Springs, California, as well as homes in two small towns in Maine.

Craig Venter has been the subject of articles in several magazines, including Wired, The Economist, Australian science magazine Cosmos, and The Atlantic.

Craig Venter appears in the two-hour 2001 NOVA special, "Cracking the code of life".

On May 16,2004, Craig Venter gave the commencement speech at Boston University.

On December 4,2007, Craig Venter gave the Dimbleby lecture for the BBC in London.

Craig Venter gave the Distinguished Public Lecture during the 2007 Michaelmas Term at the James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University.

Craig Venter delivered the 2008 convocation speech for Faculty of Science honours and specialization students at the University of Alberta.

Craig Venter was featured in Time magazine's "The Top 10 Everything of 2008" article.

On May 20,2010, Craig Venter announced the creation of first self-replicating semi-synthetic bacterial cell.

Craig Venter shared various anecdotes and advice, including stories of his time in Vietnam, as well as mentioning a bout with melanoma on his back, which subsequently resulted in his "giving a pound of flesh" to surgery.

In May 2011, Craig Venter was the commencement speaker at the 157th commencement of Syracuse University.

In May 2017, Craig Venter was the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the inauguration ceremony of the Center for Systems Biology Dresden.