David Berry (inventor)

David Berry
Born	(1978-02-10) February 10, 1978
Education	MIT, Harvard Medical School
Occupation	Venture capitalist, entrepreneur, Flagship Ventures

David Berry, M.D., PhD., (born February 10, 1978) is an American inventor, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and CEO. Berry has co-founded and helped build over 10 companies in life sciences, technology, and sustainability. In 2007, he was named as the Innovator of the Year from the MIT Technology Review TR35 list of one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35.^[1] He was selected as a 2014 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.^[2] He speaks globally on topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship.

Early life and education

Berry was born in New York City in 1978. He graduated Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY in 1996. Berry graduated with a S.B. Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Xi from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000. He was awarded his PhD from the Biological Engineering Division at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completing his thesis in the labs of Robert Langer and Ram Sasisekharan. Berry earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 2006.^[3] He was recognized in 2005 with the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for invention and innovation.^[4]

Career

Joule Unlimited

In 2007, Berry founded Joule Unlimited, which is developing Solar Fuels—drop-in fuels produced directly from the sun. Berry served as President and CEO of the company through April 2009, and currently serves on the Board of Directors.^[5] Joule is pioneering solar fuels through a new technology that coverts sunlight, carbon dioxide, and salt water into drop-in fuels for prices as low as $20.^[6]

In March 2010 ^[7] and again in March 2011, Joule was named by Technology Review as one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies. Joule was named as one of the 10 most important emerging technologies in 2011.^[8] Joule's unique and innovative approach to fuels led to its being named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2012^[9] and to its receiving the Silver Medal in the 2011 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards.^[10] Joule's technology has now been successfully scaled to a demonstration facility,^[11] and the company has announced a commercial partnership with Audi.^[12] Berry has been recognized multiple times as one of the top people in bioenergy by Biofuels Digest.^[13]

Pronutria

In 2009, Berry founded Pronutria, which is pioneering a new approach to unlock the vast untapped therapeutic potential of proteins in the diet.^[14] Berry served as President and CEO through March 2012.^[15] Pronutria has built a proprietary database that contains over 1 billion food proteins, and leverages 40 years of clinical data that validates the pharmacological activity of particular amino acid combinations to identify proteins that, when delivered orally, act as prodrugs. The protein delivery form allows for of important drug-like properties including pharmacokinetic control and improvement of physiochemical features.^[16] Pronutria has advanced two of its ProNutrein™ into clinical trials.^[17]

Seres Health

In 2011, Berry founded Seres Health, a company that develops a new class of therapeutics based on insights into the biology of the human microbiome.^[18] Seres Health has developed a new approach to functionally assess the changes of the microbiome associated with disease, and identifies a consortia of organisms that can catalyze a shift to health.^[19] Seres has advanced is lead into the clinic for recurrent C. difficile.^[20]

LS9

In 2005, Berry co-founded LS9, with Chris Somerville, Jay Keasling, and George M. Church, which uses synthetic biology to engineer microorganisms to covert sustainable, plant-based materials into low-carbon fuels and chemicals. LS9 has successfully built on technologies he invented with other co-founders to produce a scalable platform for renewable fuels and chemicals.^[21] This technology was successfully scaled to a fully operational 135,000L facility in Okeechobee, Florida.^[22] The impact and importance of LS9's technology led to its being named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2008^[23] and its being awarded the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s highest environmental honor.^[24] LS9 was acquired by Renewable Energy Group in 2014.^[25]

Flagship Ventures

Berry joined Flagship Ventures, a Cambridge, Massachusetts based venture capital firm that invests in and founds companies in healthcare and sustainability, in 2005 where he is a partner. Berry has been described "a rising star of the Boston-area venture capital scene," ^[26] and "one of the most brilliant thinkers." ^[27] Berry serves on the board of directors of Joule Unlimited, Seres Health, Pronutria, Eleven Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: EBIO), and Symbiota.^[28] Berry has been an author of 14 scientific papers and over 60 patent applications.

Honors and Awards

Selected as a 2014 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.^[29]
Recognized in 2013 in the PharmaVOICE 100, a list of the 100 most inspiring people in the life-sciences industry^[30]
Honored by the Boston Business Journal as one of the 2012 Class of 40 under 40 honoree.^[31]
Recognized in 2008 by the US State Department as one of 12 Innovators Helping Reshape Reality along with J. Craig Venter and Tim Berners-Lee.^[32]
Named as the Innovator of the Year from the MIT Technology Review TR35 list of one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35 in 2007.^[33]
2005 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for invention and innovation.^[34]

Other Affiliations

Berry is currently a trustee at the Hackley School,^[35] a board member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and a board member of the Juventas New Music Ensemble.^[36] Berry is a member of the Leadership Council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.^[37]

Berry previously served as a member of the corporation from 2006-2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[38]