As head of Biodesign at Berkeley National Lab, LEAP Alumnus Nathan Hillson is the principal investigator of the Agile Biofoundry, a consortium of nine US national labs working towards reducing biomanufacturing commercialization timelines and costs. He is also contributing to commercial platforms that support the industry as founder and chief scientific officer of Teselagen. At the Joint Genomics Institute (JGI), Nathan spearheaded the institutionalization of a review process that covers the broader aspects and implications (e.g., biosafety, biosecurity, environmental, ethical, legal, social) of proposed synthetic biology projects, which has drawn on the expertise of LEAP Fellows and mentors. Recognized as a thought leader in the field, Nathan served on the committee of the National Academies study on the Industrialization of Biotechnology.