Andrew Hessel

Exploring the leading edge of biotechnology

Andrew stands at the forefront of biological technologies and biosecurity, guiding diverse stakeholders through the swiftly evolving landscape of life sciences.

His insights illuminate the rapid changes in biotechnology and humanity's relationship with biology.

The age of programming life has arrived.

Public Speaking

Andrew is a seasoned professional keynote speaker, known for his ability to captivate audiences and demystify complex topics. Each presentation is meticulously tailored for maximum impact.

His ability to resonate with and inspire his audience has made him a sought-after speaker for:

  • Universities: Notably, Stanford and UCSD

  • Corporate Events: Including Cisco, SimCorp, and Autodesk

  • Consultancies: Such as Deloitte and EY

  • International Organizations: Including the United Nations and CERN

  • Government Entities: Including the Department of Defense, FBI, and U.S. Navy

  • Media Outlets: Forbes, Bloomberg, and Wired

  • Conferences: Including EG, TEDx, and ComicCon

  • Science and Health Organizations: NIH, GESDA, and Exponential Medicine

  • Special Interest Groups: International Symposium on Human Identification (ISHI) and Veterinary Innovation Summit

  • Creative and Design Organizations: CreativeMornings, AIGA, and IDEO

  • Technology and Engineering: Future-forward organizations including Jeff Bezos's exclusive MARS conference

Andrew's extensive experience across these varied domains underscores his versatility and commitment to delivering impactful, customized talks that resonate with his audience.

Speaking Topics

Biology and the bioeconomy
Biosecurity and biodefense
Humanity's biological future
Understanding biotechnology

Biological safety and security are crucial for personal health and national defense. As biology digitizes, it increases the risk of biological weapon development, bioattacks, and biological warfare.

Biotechnology will dramatically change our relationship with other creatures, our impact on the environment, and even what it means to be human. Get insights into where humanity is heading.

Life is the only technology we didn't create, making it mysterious and controversial. Scientists have spent centuries reverse-engineering biochemistry. Now AI and digital biology is opening the door to programming it.

Andrew will create a bespoke presentation for your audience or event.

Need a custom presentation?

Biology represents about 5% of US GDP and touches on almost every economic sector. As biotechnology changes, so does the bioeconomy.

Andrew Hessel is an engaging writer, contributing insightful articles and essays to various media outlets, academic journals, and private enterprises in technology, biology, science, and futurism. His expertise spans a range of cutting-edge topics, including synthetic biology, genetic engineering, the valuation of biology as an asset class, biosecurity, biodefense, fertility services, cloning, and envisioning humanity's biological destiny.

In February 2022, Andrew co-authored "The Genesis Machine: Our Quest to Rewrite Life in the Age of Synthetic Biology" alongside futurist Amy Webb. Published by PublicAffairs, a division of Hachette Book Group, the book has garnered critical acclaim, earning distinctions such as a New Yorker Best Book of 2022, achieving Amazon bestseller status, and being recommended by McKinsey.

Andrew has written for The Atlantic, Wired UK, Proto.Life, and Scientific American. His work has been optioned by Paramount Pictures and translated and published in multiple languages around the world.

He publishes regularly on Medium.

Writing

Advising and Consulting

Andrew has advised students, entrepreneurs, health organizations, NGOs, and corporations, including major film and television studios including Disney and ABC Television.

He's worked with government groups including the United Nations, the FBI, the US Department of Defense, and the US Navy, providing insights into where bioscience and biotechnology are going.

He demystifies life science for the non-biologist and understandably explains complex ideas using clear, jargon-free language.

Whether you're an individual, a small organization, or a global corporation, you'll gain valuable insights that save time and effort, facilitate decision-making, or reveal new economic opportunities.

Projects, Prototyping, and Startups

Andrew is a co-founder and chairman of the Genome Project-write, a global scientific and engineering community interested in writing genomes from scratch, including the human genome. Founded in 2016, it is a thought leader on the forefront of synthetic genomics.

Leveraging his Autodesk experiences, Andrew co-founded Humane Genomics, a New York-based company specializing in precision-engineered synthetic oncolytic viruses as cancer therapies.

With his team at Autodesk, a design software company, Andrew spearheaded the "3D printing" of complete genomes and designer organisms, starting with bacteriophage PhiX174. This work was widely recognized in the media and ultimately acquired by the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Andrew has a long-standing interest in how to generate digital twins of organisms ranging from microbes to people. This work has extended into explorations of biological banking, computer modeling and simulation, and synthetic genomics/organism printing.

As a member of the XPrize Foundation's brain trust in the Health domain, Andrew is championing the development of next-generation DNA Writing technology capable of synthesizing and assembling microbial-scale genomes. Currently a top-ranking prize sketch, it will proceed to full prize development once sponsors are secured.

Contact

Email:

ahessel@gmail.com

Calendly: