Biography
David Sun Kong, Ph.D. is a Synthetic Biologist, community organizer, musician, and photographer. He conducted his graduate studies at MIT’s Media Laboratory, receiving a Ph.D. for demonstrating the first gene synthesis in a microfluidic system. He was recognized as an emerging leader in synthetic biology as a “LEAP” fellow, served as a guest faculty member at the Marine Biology Lab in Woods Hole, MA, and is co-founder and managing faculty of “How To Grow (Almost) Anything,” an international course on biotechnology. He founded and chaired new Microfluidic and Hardware Tracks for iGEM and is the official iGEM DJ. He is currently the Director of a new Community Biotechnology Initiative at the MIT Media Laboratory. Our mission is to empower communities around the world through biotechnology.
David is also the founder and director of EMW, an art, technology, and community center in Cambridge, MA. EMW’s mission is to empower marginalized communities through the transformative power of artistic expression. He is also an award-winning vocal arranger and producer and has performed as a DJ, beat-boxer, vocalist, and rapper at hundreds of venues. His photography has been exhibited at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian and other galleries across the country.