About Dr. Gunn
DR. MOIRA GUNN is recognized as both a sci/tech communicator and journalist, as well as a professor at the University of San Francisco (USF). She is best known nationally and worldwide as the host of the one-hour weekly public radio program Tech Nation (TN) and its regular segment, BioTech Nation (BTN), which air on domestic NPR Affiliates and globally on American Forces Radio and Television International (AFRTS). Podcasts of both the full-hour Tech Nation program and, separately, the BioTech Nation-only segments can be found on numerous podcast venues, including Apple, Google, Spotify, Alexa, Pandora, and other popular podcast venues. For this effort, the National Science Board awarded Gunn its Public Service Award to the Individual for "Far-reaching Contributions to Increasing the Public Understanding of Science and Engineering”.
Following advanced degrees in Computer Science, Dr. Gunn went on to become the first woman to receive a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, where she has since been awarded an honorary doctorate in science. A former NASA computer scientist and engineer, Dr. Gunn is a professor of biotechnology and the Founder and Director of Bioentrepreneurship at USF. Her biotech entrepreneurship courses reflect today's global biotech industry, and include Biopharmaceuticals, Biomedical Devices, Diagnostics, and Digital Health, and her BTN biotech interviews have become an essential part of these courses. In total, these biotech interviews has included some 1,000 biotech CEO’s, chief scientists, and global industry leaders. Her book, “Welcome to Biotech Nation: My Unexpected Odyssey into the Land of Small Molecules, Big Ideas, and Lean Genes” was named to the Library Journal’s Annual Best Book List.
In Spring, 2025, Dr. Gunn was named the Editor-in-Chief of the new peer-reviewed journal: Status, Trends, and Challenges in Global Bioentrepreneurship. This journal is a part of the larger media endeavor, Global Bioentrepreneurship (GBioE). This is emergent online media effort has the simple premise: "All bioenterprise is global, or potentially so." GBioE’s intent is to gather and invite insightful contributions from the biotech industry to the industry. Among GBioE's primary goals include developing a full registry of Biotech Startup companies globally, and to building Bioentrepreneurship into a recognized and thriving academic discipline in its own right.
Sample Keynotes ...
- Genentech: "The Challenge Always Changes ... The Problem Remains the Same"
- Arizona Entrepreneur Conference: "Working with the Global Science-Business Media"
- L7 Informatics Conference: "Artificial Intelligence Rules for the Biotech Industry"
- National State Courts Technology Conference: "The Most Complicated Tech Talked About Today"
- Cytiva Life Sciences, formerly GE Healthcare LS: "Creating Momentum: Women and Empowerment"
- Rally 360: "Why Care About Biotech? ... Got Any DNA?"
- Purdue University: "Women's Health in the Tech Nation"
- Sacramento Seminars: "Brexit and Biotech"
- City Club of San Francisco, "Who Doesn’t Have DNA? A Few Things Everyday People Need to Know"
- Purdue University's Science and Society Honors Lecture: "Gaslighting as High Art"
Sample Panel Moderator ...
- Nobel Laureates @ The Exploratorium, San Francisco
- Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn (Physiology/Medicine, President, Salk Institute)
- Dr. Paul Milgrom (Economics, Professor Stanford University)
- Dr. Saul Perlmutter (Physics, Professor, UC Berkeley)
- SXSW - sponsored by Bristol Myers Squib
- "Health Equity: A Shared Mindset for Patients"
- "Equity: How Digital Unlocks Access to Medicines"
- BIO/San Diego - sponsored by Novartis, GSK, and AbbVie
- “Demystifying Buzzwords: How Big Data and Machine Learning Are Transforming Life Sciences”
- SynBioBeta, "Synthetic Immunology: Next-Gen Antibody Engineering"
- Dr. Jake Glanville, Dr. Aaron Sato, Dr. John McCafferty
- BIO/Boston, "Psychedelics Are Going Mainstream ... Are You Ready For It?"
- Dr. Steffen Thirstrup, Chief Medical Officer of the EMA (European Medicines Agency)
- Dr. Sharmin Ghaznavi, Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics, Massachusetts General
Sample Fireside Chats ...
- With Tom Standage, Deputy Editor, The Economist
- With Salman Khan, Founder, Khan Academy
- With Paul Otellini, CEO, Intel
- With Anne Wojcicki, Founder and CEO, 23andMe
- Other Fireside Chats include: Steve Wozniak, Gordon Moore, Buzz Aldrin, and others
Sample Panel Member ...
- National Science Foundation (NSF) 70th Anniversary: "Industries of the Future"
Contact Dr. Gunn
Dr. Gunn may be reached for personal appearances
via the email:
DrGunnspeaks@gmail.com