Richard Resnick: Welcome to The Genomic Revolution Educational Speaker from Old Saybrook, CT

Richard Resnick is a well-known player in the Genomics industry whose TEDtalk, "Welcome to the Genomic Revolution", has been viewed nearly one million times. This guide to The Genomic Revolution is a whirlwind journey through our deepening understanding of the genome and its dizzying applications in medicine, agriculture, society, and in defining the very nature of what it means to be human...and beyond. Resnick got his start in genomics working on the Human Genome Project at the MIT Whitehead Institute. His background in drama, science and computer science as well as his years as a CEO allow him to communicate complicated scientific ideas in layman's terms, so the audience is exposed to explosions of realizations about what this new technology means and its inevitable effect on the course of human history. The content of this talk is alarming, and the way Resnick presents it leaves the listeners exhausted, exhilarated and desperate to learn more. The presentation is also very interactive – live polling encourages the audience to consider their stance on the moral, ethical and financial implications of genome sequencing and editing technology with real-time results being displayed as a way to gauge their opinions against their peers. And, in most cases, we're able to obtain samples and deliver genome sequencing results specifically for the audience members in attendance, which often lead to mind-blowing realizations.