Vonnie Estes to Receive 2017 Rosalind Franklin Award

Estes to accept award and deliver remarks at 2017 BIO World Congress
on Industrial Biotechnology

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today announced that
biotech industry veteran Vonnie Estes will receive the 4^th
annual Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial
Biotechnology. The award will be presented on Tuesday July 25, 2017,
during a lunch plenary
session of the 2017
BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology. The world’s largest
industrial biotechnology and partnering event will be held July 23-26,
2017 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal in Montréal, Québec, Canada.

“Scientific discoveries only achieve positive impacts once they are
successfully deployed throughout society, and that requires a deep
network of people,” said Estes. “Throughout my career, I have focused on
developing the supply chains necessary to commercialize biotechnology
innovations, motivated by a passion to achieve sustainability in
industry. I am honored to accept the Rosalind Franklin Award on behalf
of the numerous colleagues who have shared that passion.”

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial &
Environmental Section, added, “Vonnie Estes is an accomplished industry
leader with decades of experience commercializing industrial
biotechnology innovations and developing emerging companies. She has
held key leadership positions in companies, including DuPont, GranBio,
Caribou Biosciences, Monsanto, and Syngenta. With this award, BIO hopes
to honor Rosalind Franklin’s legacy by recognizing women who make
lasting contributions to the field of biotechnology.”

The Award will again be sponsored by the Rosalind
Franklin Society, whose goal is to support and showcase the careers
of eminent women in science. “Rosalind Franklin made an important
contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Her work serves
as an inspiration and model to female scientists. Throughout her
distinguished career, Vonnie Estes has made numerous contributions to
the commercial development of new biotechnologies, creating
revolutionary products that are good for people and the planet,” said
Rita R. Colwell, PhD, President of the Rosalind Franklin Society and
Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland College
Park and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Rosalind Franklin conceived and captured Photograph 51 of the “B” form
of DNA in 1952, while at King’s College in London. This photograph,
acquired through 100 hours of X-ray exposure from a machine Dr. Franklin
herself refined, revealed the structure of DNA. The discovery of the
structure of DNA was the single most important advance of modern
biology. James Watson and Francis Crick, working at Cambridge
University, used Photograph 51 as the basis for their famous model of
DNA, which earned them a Nobel Prize in 1962. Though sometimes
overlooked, Rosalind Franklin’s critical work and discovery in the field
has allowed the biotechnology industry to become what it is today.

Vonnie Estes is currently an independent business consultant. She was
most recently Vice President of Business Development at Caribou
Biosciences, leading the company’s partnerships and business development
activities in agricultural and industrial biotechnology. Prior to
joining Caribou Biosciences, Vonnie Estes served as Managing Director
for GranBio, where she oversaw the company’s continued expansion and
growth across North America and was responsible for identifying and
licensing new technologies, overseeing large capital investments and
raising brand awareness. Vonnie Estes is a Board Director of Microvi
Biotechnologies, a member of the Iteris ClearAg Advisory Council, a
member of the Advisory Board of Agile BioFoundry, and a member of
Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee at the US Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy. She formerly served on BIO’s Industrial
& Environmental Section Governing Board.

Vonnie Estes is the 4^th recipient honored with the annual
Rosalind Franklin Award; past recipients include:

• Anna Rath, President and CEO of NexSteppe, in 2016;
• Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, in 2015; and
• Dr. Debbie S. Yaver, Director of Expression Technology, Genomics and
  Bioinformatics at Novozymes, in 2014.

All programs at the 2017 BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology
are open to members of the media. Complimentary media
registration is available to editors and reporters working full time
for print, broadcast or web publications with valid press credentials.

For more information on the conference please visit https://www.bio.org/events/bio-world-congress.
For assistance, please contact [email protected].

About BIO

BIO is the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology
companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and
related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other
nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of
innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental
biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO
International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the
biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and
partnering meetings held around the world. BIOtechNOW
is BIO’s blog chronicling “innovations transforming our world” and the
BIO Newsletter is the organization’s bi-weekly email newsletter. Subscribe
to the BIO Newsletter.

Contacts

Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
Paul
Winters, 202-962-9237
Web: www.bio.org
Blog:
www.biotech-now.org
Twitter:
@IAmBiotech