Biomanufacturing, Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology, Microbiology, Electrochemistry, Genomics/Transcriptomics/Proteomics

Dr. Sarah Glaven is a distinguished authority in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. She was most recently a senior biologist at the United States Naval Research Laboratory where she has pioneered a field called electromicrobiology, the study of the interaction between microbes and electronic devices. Her research uses systems biology and synthetic biology to answer fundamental questions about biological systems significant to marine systems and national security. She has published dozens of research articles cited thousands of times (>3700), book chapters, and multiple patents. She has collaborated extensively with the private sector through cooperative research and development agreements and patent licensing.

Dr. Glaven recently served in the Biden-Harris Administration (2023-2025) as Principal Assistant Director for Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She was the top scientist for biotechnology and biomanufacturing on the Industrial Innovation team. She led the National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative by establishing and chairing the National Bioeconomy Board. In this role she oversaw coordination and implementation of over $15 billion in federal funding across the executive branch, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Service, United State Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. She also worked with the Science Advisor to the President and the National Security Council to advise the President on all areas of the bioeconomy, including research and development, data, infrastructure, procurement, workforce, regulation, biosafety and biosecurity, international engagement, and national security.

During her time at the Naval Research Laboratory, she has played a pivotal role in modernizing biotechnology in the Department of Defense, receiving the first award to collaborate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to advance synthetic biology for ocean sensing, and later leading a team of researchers from the Navy, Army, and Air Force to further expand biotechnology for defense applications more broadly. Dr. Glaven brought her expertise to the Pentagon from 2021-2024 to establish and lead the Tri-Service Biotechnology for a Resilient Supply Chain program, where she oversaw deployment of over $300 million to update laboratory infrastructure and create public-private partnerships to prototype and demonstrate biotechnology for defense.

Dr. Glaven is passionate about leadership and mentoring. While at the Naval Research Lab, she has trained postdoctoral research scholars, graduate students, undergraduates and high school students, including the first iGEM team to compete from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. In 2022, she served as Branch Chief of the Laboratory for Biosensors and Biomaterials where she supervised a staff of over 20 scientists and engineers. She is a fellow of the International Society for Microbial Electrochemistry and Technology and served as its President from 2018-2019. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Science from the University of South Carolina, Columbia, where she researched phytoremediation. Contact Sarah.