Stylized image of a D N A strand.
Twist Bioscience, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation in Large Companies

 

 

 

October 27, 2022

4:00-5:30pm
In Person at 942 Olive St., Eugene
Or Virtual by Zoom

Dr. Emily Leproust, CEO and Co-founder of Twist Bioscience, will talk about the science behind Twist’s DNA-based tools that enable researchers across a variety of scientific disciplines to achieve groundbreaking discoveries. Leproust will share her experience of co-founding Twist, raising funds, and building a team from the ground up. She will share her strategy for maintaining a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation as companies grow to be larger in both revenue and personnel. The lessons learned from Twist’s early stages to their current growth are relevant to those working in startups, large companies, and large public institutions.

Dr. Leproust will present remotely via Zoom. Join us as we gather in person at Onward Eugene (942 Olive St) to connect with Dr. Leproust and with other attendees.

The Women's Innovation Network is a joint initiative between the University of Oregon and Onward Eugene. Our 2022-23 seminar series is sponsored by Klarquist Sparkman LLP.

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A Note About Gender: We intend for the words "women" and "woman" to include anyone who identifies with the word. We recognize that gender is a broad spectrum, and we aim to celebrate everyone on this spectrum. We always welcome allies and accomplices to join us.

Photo of Emily Leproust, Co-founder and CEO of Twist Bioscience, in a kayak with her dog
Emily Leproust, PhD
CEO and Co-founder, Twist Bioscience

As an early pioneer in the high-throughput synthesis and sequencing of DNA, Dr. Leproust is disrupting markets to enable the exponential growth of DNA-based applications, including chemicals/materials, diagnostics, therapeutics, food and digital data storage.

In 2020, BIO presented her with the Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership. Foreign Policy named her one of their 100 Leading Global Thinkers, and Fast Company named her one of the Most Creative People in Business.

Prior to Twist Bioscience, she held escalating positions at Agilent Technologies where she architected the successful SureSelect product line that lowered the cost of sequencing and elucidated mechanisms responsible for dozens of Mendelian diseases. She also developed the Oligo Library Synthesis technology where she initiated and led product and business development activities for the team. Dr. Leproust designed and developed multiple commercial synthesis platforms to streamline microarray manufacturing and fabrication.

She serves on the Board of Directors of CM Life Sciences and is a co-founder of Petri, an accelerator for start-ups at the forefront of engineering and biology. Dr. Leproust has published over thirty peer-reviewed papers, many on applications of synthetic DNA, and is the author of numerous patents. She earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from University of Houston and her M.Sc. in industrial chemistry from the Lyon School of Industrial Chemistry.