Dr. Sarah Glaven is a distinguished authority in biotechnology and biomanufacturing. Currently, Dr. Glaven is a Visiting Fellow with the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University, as well as Founder and Principal of Marathon Bio where she is advising startups focused on industrial biotech and national security. She is a former senior biologist at the United States Naval Research Laboratory where she pioneered a field called electromicrobiology, the study of the interaction between microbes and electronic devices. She has collaborated extensively with the private sector through cooperative research and development agreements and patent licensing. From 2023-2025, Dr. Glaven served as Principal Assistant Director for Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 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.