James R. Swartz
Stanford University
Dr. Swartz obtained his B.S.Ch.E. from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with highest honors. After working for two years for Union Oil Co. of California as a petroleum engineer, he attended M.I.T. where he earned his M.S. and D.Sc. in chemical engineering and biochemical engineering, respectively. His focus on the development and control of fermentation processes led him to a scientific exchange visit to the U.S.S.R. and to initial employment at Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis. In 1981, he joined Genentech, where he worked in both scientific and managerial positions related to rDNA protein production for nearly 18 years.
In 1998, he moved to Stanford University as a Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department focusing on cell-free biology. The following year he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and in 2003 he was also appointed as a Professor and founding faculty in the new Department of Bioengineering. In 2005, he presented the Amgen Lecture for the Society of Industrial Microbiology, and in 2006 he was named the Leland T. Edwards Professor at the Stanford School of Engineering. In 2008, he received the James E. Bailey Award from the Society for Biological Engineering of AIChE. He is also a founder of Sutro Biopharma, Inc., a new company dedicated to developing commercial cell-free technologies. His research seeks to reproduce and direct complex metabolism in a cell-free environment. Applications include pharmaceutical protein production, patient-specific cancer vaccines, improved vaccine architectures, biological hydrogen production from sunlight, and advanced water purification technology based on aquaporins.