2020 BioGENEius Hall of Fame Awardee

Today, the Biotechnology Institute announced the winner of the BioGENEius Hall of Fame Award, who will be recognized today at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization's BIO Digital 2020 Convention. Each year, the Biotechnology Institute honors a past BioGENEius who best exemplifies the goals of its mission. This year, we honor Anvita Gupta, former BioGENEius winner and currently CEO of AINovo Biotech.

Anvita received her M.Sc and B.Sc in Computer Science from Stanford University with honors in Artificial Intelligence and Biocomputation, graduating in four years with both degrees. Originally from Arizona, Anvita was the 2015 first-place winner of the International BioGENEius Global Healthcare Challenge and a winner of the 2019 Champions of Science BioGENEius Storytelling Challenge from Johnson & Johnson.

Anvita was invited to present her BioGENEius research on computational drug discovery to the President at the White House in 2015, and she has been an invited speaker at global events including the White House Ebola Innovators Conference, sponsored by USAID and OSTP. Her work in generative modeling and protein design has been published in Wiley's Molecular Informatics, Nature Machine Intelligence, and she has presented at international conferences in machine learning and biology including ICML and ISMB. Anvita has more than nine years of technical experience in artificial intelligence domains, including generative modeling, computer vision, and natural language processing for genomics, proteomics, and drug design for global academic labs at Stanford University, Harvard Medical School, and ETH Zurich.

Anvita is also passionate about inspiring young women in STEM, and is the founder of LITAS (Learning IT, Apps and Software) For Girls, a 501(c) (3) international nonprofit to inspire young girls to pursue careers in STEM. The organization includes over 15 chapters across India and in the Bay Area on the West Coast.

AINovo Biotech Inc. uses artificial intelligence and synthetic biology to transform therapeutics and diagnostics development. It is currently focusing its platform's efforts to accelerate the development of rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19.

"Anvita exemplifies the Institute's vision for its BioGENEius family," said Dr. Larry Mahan, President of the Biotechnology Institute. "Her pursuit of scientific discovery and application balanced with a strong STEM education perspective embodies those qualities that make our futures bright."

About the Biotechnology Institute

The Biotechnology Institute is an independent, national nonprofit organization dedicated to education about the present and future impact of biotechnology. Its mission is to engage, excite and educate the public, particularly students and teachers, about biotechnology and its immense potential for solving human health, food and environmental problems. For more information, visit www.biotechinstitute.org.