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Craig Venter

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Craig Venter

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Also known as John Craig Venter, J Craig Venter, J. C. Venter, J C Venter

American biotechnologist and businessman

Person · Open Library

Born
1946
Died
2026-04-29
Works
21

Top works

  • What Are You Optimistic About?
  • Structure/funct Calcium Channel (Receptor Biochemistry & Methodology)
  • Molecular/chem Memb Recep (Receptor Biochemistry and Methodology)
  • Target-size Analys Of Membr (Receptor Biochemistry & Methodology)
  • Receptor Purification Proc

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Music · MusicBrainz

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
755
Total plays
910

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Craig+Venter">Read more on Last.fm</a>

via Last.fm · Craig Venter

Quotes

  • Moving forward in science is as much unwinding the distorted thinking of the past as it is putting a clearer idea on the table.
  • I think from my experience in war and life and science, it all has made me believe that we have one life on this planet. We have one chance to live it and to contribute to the future of society and the future of life. The only "afterlife" is what other people remember of you.
  • Tenure actually delivers a doubly whammy to the organizations that endure this outmoded arrangement. The second-rate people who thrive in a tenured environment like nothing more than to surround themselves with more mediocrity and drive out those who might excel and reveal the shortcomings of the entrenched.

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Key facts

Born
John Craig Venter , ( 1946-10-14 ) October 14, 1946, Salt Lake City , Utah, U.S.
Died
April 29, 2026 (2026-04-29) (aged 79), San Diego , California, U.S.
Alma mater
University of California, San Diego
Occupation
Biologist
Spouses
Barbara Rae ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1968 ; separated</span>"}]]}'>sep. 1980 ) ​ Claire M. Fraser (div. 2005) Heather Kowalski ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 2008 ) ​
Awards
Gairdner Award (2002) Nierenberg Prize (2007) Kistler Prize (2008) ENI award (2008) Medal of Science (2008) Dickson Prize (2011) Leeuwenhoek Medal (2015) Edogawa NICHE Prize (2020)
Fields
DNA Human genome Metagenomics Synthetic genomics Shotgun approach to genome sequencing
Institutions
State University of New York at Buffalo National Institutes of Health J. Craig Venter Institute
Thesis
Immobilized and insolubilized drugs, hormones and enzymes: characterizations and applications to physiology and medicine (1975)
Doctoral advisor
Nathan O. Kaplan
Doctoral students
Claire M. Fraser
Website
www .jcvi .org

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Key dates

Died
29 April 2026

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Wikidata facts

Place of death
San Diego
Image
J. Craig Venter crop 2011 CHAO2011-49.jpg
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Commons category
Craig Venter
date of birth
1946-10-14
Erdős number
3
name in native language
John Craig Venter
social media followers
49328
date of death
2026-04-29
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~19 min read

Article

John Craig Venter (October 14, 1946 – April 29, 2026) was an American scientist, businessman, and genomics researcher. He is known for having led one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and led the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome. Venter founded Celera Genomics, the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). He was the co-founder of Human Longevity Inc., and Synthetic Genomics.

Venter was listed on Time magazine's 2007 and 2008 Time 100 lists of the most influential people in the world. In 2010, the British magazine New Statesman listed him as 14th in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010". In 2012, Venter was honored with the Dan David Prize for his contribution to genome research. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2013. He was a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival's advisory board.

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