Henry Lee

Henry Lee is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cultivarium, a nonprofit startup focused on developing tools and resources for research on non-model microorganisms.13 Here are some key details about Henry Lee:

Background and Experience

• Prior to Cultivarium, Henry was a core member and Director of Genomics at Pandemic Response Labs, working on COVID-19 diagnostics and biosurveillance.1
• He has advised and co-founded startups in areas like DNA data storage, synthetic biology, and the microbiome.1
• Henry completed his PhD working with Jim Collins, focusing on synthetic and systems biology.1
• He also did postdoctoral research as a Research Fellow with George Church, studying genetics.1

Research Interests

• Henry is particularly interested in problems at the intersection of biology, hardware, and software.1
• His background includes training in electrical engineering and signal processing.1
• He has published research on topics like bacterial resistance, antibiotic treatment effects, DNA synthesis for data storage, and genomic tools for rapidly replicating bacteria.2

Role at Cultivarium

As CEO of Cultivarium, Henry leads the organization's efforts to:

• Create open-source tools for life scientists to expand access to novel microorganisms.3
• Develop methods and resources to make it easier for researchers to work with non-model organisms.4
• Build a framework for studying and engineering extraordinary microbes from the biosphere.3

Henry's work at Cultivarium aims to address the challenges researchers face when working with new, understudied microorganisms, including difficulties in culturing, genetic manipulation, and securing funding for basic research on these organisms.4