DR. VIKRAMADITYA G. YADAV

Associate Professor of Chemical, Biological & Biomedical Engineering THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

BIO: Vikramaditya G. Yadav is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, where he directs the country’s premier program in sustainable process engineering. Vikram is one of Canada’s top biotechnologists and has made notable contributions to research, education, commercialization and regulation of synthetic biology. He also founded Metabolik Technologies Inc., which was acquired by Allonnia, a Bill Gates-backed company, and is currently the chief executive officer of Tersa Earth, a mining biotechnology company.

BEST CAREER ADVICE: Charles Darwin was a genius. However, I was instructed by my parents to never take him seriously when thinking about my career. Fine-tuning one’s self to do what everyone does, just better, merely makes you a metronome. There is greater satisfaction in blazing new trails and solving problems unconventionally. Embrace originalism.