Neuroethicist Patricia Churchland explores the complex philosophical and ethical impact that the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience has on society. She is the President’s Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, and an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla.

Francis Collins led the Human Genome Project, which was first to sequence all of the information encoded in human DNA. His research focuses on the relationship between genetic variation and diseases. He is the Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Antonio Damasio is a leading neuroscientist and neurologist who studies the neural basis of emotions, memory, language and consciousness. He is Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Brain and Creativity Institute, all at the University of Southern California. He is also Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute. The recipient of numerous awards, he is also the author of Descartes’ Error, The Feeling of What Happens, and Looking for Spinoza.

Daniel Dennett is a philosopher who studies mind and consciousness through the lens of evolutionary biology and cognitive science. Author of several bestselling books including Darwin’s Dangerous Idea and Consciousness Explained, he is the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.

Jim Gates is known for his pioneering work in particle physics seeking a unified description of all physics. A committed researcher and educator, he is the Toll Physics Professor and Director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland.

Award-winning artist Jonathan Harris combines elements of computer science, anthropology, visual art and storytelling to explore and explain the human world. His work has been exhibited at Le Centre Pompidou and the Museum of Modern Art.

Nobel Prize-winner Paul Nurse is President of Rockefeller University, where he also continues to do research in cell biology. He is the former Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK and the recipient of many awards. In 1999, he was knighted in Great Britain for his contributions to cancer research.

Reijo Pera is a Professor and the Director of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Education Center at Stanford University. Her research is aimed at understanding the developmental genetics of human germ cell formation and differentiation. Her early work resulted in identification of one of the first genes specifically implicated in human germ cell development. Subsequently her laboratory has established techniques for differentiation of human embryonic stem cells to germ cells and genetic manipulation of the pathways.

Emmy award winning journalist Charlie Rose has been praised as “one of America’s premiere interviewers.” He is the host of Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program that engages America’s preeminent thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers.

Sociologist Nikolas Rose is interested in how genomics affects personal identity and the social and legal ramifications of studying the human genome. He is the James Martin White Professor of Sociology and the Director of the BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society at the London School of Economics.

Ian Tattersall is a prominent anthropologist whose work focuses on the evolution of humans and other primates. He is a curator for the division of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and an adjunct professor at Columbia University and the City University of New York.

Harold Varmus is the president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. For his research on retroviruses and the genetic basis of cancer, he received the 1989 Nobel Prize in Medicine.