Modi Ventures Hosts Membrane Conference with Sir Richard Branson on Necker Island

This past September we had the incredible honor of co-hosting an intimate gathering on Necker Island BVI, named Membrane, with Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to bring together some of the top minds at the intersection of health and medicine.

I am thankful to all 40 individuals who joined me and honored to have brought together luminaries such as Dean Kamen (FIRST Global, Segway, DEKA Research), Noubar Afeyan ( Founder & CEO, Flagship Pioneering and Co-Founder & Chairman, Moderna), David R. Liu (Professor at the Broad Institute, Harvard University, Co-Founder Prime Medicine, Beam Therapeutics), Mary Lou Jepsen (Founder, OpenWater and Tech Executive), Peter Lee (Corporate VP, Head of Microsoft Research), and Aloe Blacc (Grammy nominated artist) and Carol Reiley (a.k.a. Mother of Robots).

#Biology inspired the name Membrane. As the cell membrane allows organelles to function together to create life, The Membrane event brought together extraordinary minds at the intersection of health and medicine—from research, technology, philanthropy, entertainment, and business.

Over the course of the four nights and five days, we discussed and agreed to act on some of the most challenging issues and opportunities that humanity is facing, from mind-boggling scientific innovations taking us into the next frontiers to #healthcare equity issues around the world.

Discussing a range of topics, from positive disruptions led by Carol Rieley and Mary Lou, programmable medicine and gene editing revolution led by Noubar Afeyan, David Liu, Samuel H. Sternberg, Linda Avey and Daniel Kraft, MD, and finally the impact of #artificialintelligence led by Peter Lee, Junaid Bajwa and myself.

I am thankful to Sir Richard for opening up his home, Necker Island, and to the Virgin Unite team in particular, Lisa Kurdziel, for her support and partnership, and to everyone else who made this possible.