I am fascinated by learning to engineer biological systems from molecular to social scales, and back again.
You can find me on linkedin or follow me @meganjpalmer.
Dr. Megan J. Palmer is Senior Director of Public Impact at Ginkgo Bioworks where she leads efforts to ensure that biological engineering is developed with care. She is also an adjunct professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University where she previously served as the Executive Director of Bio Policy & Leadership Initiatives, leading programs to explore how biological science and engineering is shaping our societies, and to guide innovation to serve public interests.
Dr. Palmer has led many programs aimed at developing best practices and policies for the responsible development of bioengineering. She co-chairs the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology, and was a member of the Council of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC). For a decade she led social responsibility programs for the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. She also served as Deputy Director of Policy and Practices for the multi-university National Science Foundation (NSF) Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc). She founded the Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program (LEAP) and serves on the board of directors of Revive & Restore.
Previously, Dr. Palmer was a Senior Research Scholar and William J. Perry Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford, of which she is now an affiliate. She was also a project scientist at the California Center for Quantitative Bioscience (QB3) at the University of California Berkeley and a postdoctoral scholar in the Bioengineering Department at Stanford University. Dr. Palmer received her Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from M.I.T. and a B.Sc.E. in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University, Canada.
Current Positions
Adjunct Professor, Department of BioEngineering (BioE), Stanford University
Co-chair, Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology, World Economic Forum
Advisor, Bio Policy & Leadership Initiatives, Stanford University
Research Affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Stanford University
Faculty Affiliate, Research Collaboratory, Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity (CRI)
Special Advisor to the Executive, iGEM Insights Committee Chair, Safety & Security Executive Committee Member, international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation
Executive Director, Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program (LEAP)
Member of the Board of Directors (Pro Bono), Revive & Restore
Past Positions
Executive Director of Bio Policy & Leadership Initiatives, Stanford University
Council Member, Engineering Biology Research Consortium
Director of Human Practices (Pro Bono Advisory Director), international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition
Senior Research Scholar, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University
Visiting Scholar, Center for the Study of Existential Risks (CSER), Cambridge University
Lecturer, Public Policy Program, Stanford University
Lecturer, Institute of Design (the d.school), Stanford University
Faculty, How to Grow (Almost) Anything, the Academany
Advisory Board Member (Pro Bono), Center for Cellular Construction
Consultant, Building with Biology: Multi-Site Public Engagement with Science Project
Synthetic Biology Advisory Group Member, Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genomics Institute (JGI)
William J. Perry Fellow in International Security, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University
Deputy Director of Policy & Practices, National Science Foundation (NSF) Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc), University of California Berkeley
Research Scientist, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California Berkeley
Affiliate Researcher, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Endy Lab, Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University
Graduate Research Fellow, Lauffenburger Lab, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Steering Committee Member, MIT Technology and Culture Forum
Executive Member, MIT Science Policy Initiative
Undergraduate Student, Engineering Chemistry, Queen's University Canada