Phillip A. Sharp is an Institute Professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of the Department of Biology and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. His landmark work in 1977 provided the first indications of “discontinuous genes” in mammalian cells. The discovery fundamentally changed scientists’ understanding of gene structure and earned Dr. Sharp the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Sharp is a co-founder of Biogen (1978) and served as a member of the Board of Directors (1982-2009) and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is also a co-founder of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2002) and continues to serve as a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. Innovative early stage companies have been a focus of his board membership which includes VIR Biotechnology, Inc. (2015 -), Syros Pharmaceuticals 2014 – 2022, and several others. He also served on many public boards including Trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital (2002-2011), Trustee of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (1995- 2004), the Whitehead Institute (2005 -) and the Broad Institute (2009-). He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Royal Society, UK. Among his many awards are the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, and the National Medal of Science. His long list of service includes the presidency of the AAAS (2013), Member of PCAST Committee (1994-97), Chairman the National Cancer Advisory Board (2000-2002), Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Stand Up to Cancer (2008 -). A native of Kentucky, Dr. Sharp earned a B.A. degree from Union College, Barbourville, KY, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.