Thursday, March 5 | 11 am – 12 pm
Zoom
Are you interested in doing research at the leading edge of science and technology? The Biological Technologies Office (BTO) within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) leverages advances in biology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to develop technologies that protect warfighters, strengthen logistics and supply chains, and accelerate transformative science across the biological spectrum.
In this virtual presentation to the BU research community, BTO Director Dr. Michael Koeris will provide an overview of DARPA and the BTO, and highlight BTO’s current research thrusts. Faculty will leave the talk with a better understanding of how to share their research with DARPA program managers, and the types of research DARPA is interested in supporting.
Watch the replay hereAbout DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an independent research and development agency within the U.S. Department of War (DoW).
Created in response to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, DARPA stands as our nation’s commitment to never again face a strategic technical surprise.
Working with innovators inside and outside government, we have delivered on our mission many times over – transforming the seemingly impossible into world-changing defense and national security capabilities. Often, DARPA innovations also become fixtures of modern civilian life.
Unlike other agencies, DARPA is not satisfied with incremental advances. We push transformational breakthroughs – innovations that not only solve current challenges but also establish the U.S. as the leading driver of strategic technological invention.
About the Speaker
Michael Koeris, Ph.D., joined DARPA as the director of the Biological Technologies Office in April 2024. Dr. Koeris has since been leading efforts focused on developing advanced capabilities in autonomous science, medicine, and biosurveillance. Leveraging experts in engineering, science, and medicine, Dr. Koeris aims to enable national biotechnological strategic advantages over and defense against biosecurity threats.
Before coming to DARPA, Koeris served as professor of bioprocessing and as a member of the Amgen Bioprocessing Center in the Department of Biological Engineering and Management at the Keck Graduate Institute. His research and teaching focused on all aspects of chemistry, manufacturing, and control for microbiome medicines, as well as advanced cell and gene therapy approaches. Dr. Koeris also advised the NIH’s RADx initiative during the pandemic as a Portfolio Executive, assisting with the rapid development, clinical validation, manufacturing and distribution of Sars-CoV-2 diagnostic tests.
Prior to joining KGI in 2020, Koeris actively started, grew, and exited biotechnology startups, both as founder and senior leader, as well as a member of the Board of Directors. He holds more than a dozen patents through the U.S. and internationally. His entrepreneurial career began by spinning out Sample6, which was recognized by Forbes as one of the 25 hottest AgTech startups in 2017 and was acquired later thatS year.
Dr. Koeris is proud to have been recently elected to be a National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow, an honor that recognizes his exceptional achievements as an inventor and the significant impact he has had on the innovation ecosystem. Dr. Koeris was also recently elected to be a Class of 2026 Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Dr. Koeris serves as a Board Director of global, non-profit repository AddGene, and has previously served on boards of commercial biotech entities.
Register here