Speaker Profile
M.D., Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder, Moonwalk Biosciences
Biography
Alex Aravanis is CEO and co-founder of Moonwalk Biosciences. Previously Illuminas Chief Technology Officer and Head of Research Product Development, he led programs that delivered tools for research and clinicalgenomics, including whole-genome sequencing, comprehensive cancerprofiling, COVID-Seq, and advanced AI for interpreting genomes, usedworldwide today. A serial entrepreneur, Aravanis co-founded GRAIL, servingas Chief Scientific Officer and Head of RD, where he directed research, development, and clinical teams to create a multi-cancer early detectiontest. Earlier at Illumina, he developed key technologies such as clinicalRNADNA assays for fixed tissues, whole-exome analysis, single-celltranscriptomics, and liquid biopsy using cell-free nucleic acids. Aravanisearned a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a Physicsminor from UC Berkeley, an MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering, and an MDfrom Stanford. He holds more than 30 patents, has numerous peer-reviewedpublications, and serves on biotech Scientific Advisory Boards.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2026 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
Christina Curtis, Stanford
PMWC Award Ceremony
• W.E. Moerner, Stanford
• Serge Saxonov, 10x Genomics
• Priscilla Chan, Biohub
Honoree Fireside
• Christina Curtis, Stanford
• Priscilla Chan, Biohub
Honoree Fireside: From Measurement to Meaning: What Data AI Still Needs in Biology
• Christina Curtis, Stanford
• W.E. Moerner, Stanford
• Serge Saxonov, 10x Genomics
Unraveling Tissue Architecture with Single-Cell & Spatial Multi-Omics
• Chair: Garry P. Nolan, Stanford
• Joakim Lundeberg, SciLifeLab
• Tae Hyun Hwang, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Michael Angelo, Stanford
Spatial Sequencing for Next Generation Pathology
• Eli Glezer, Singular Genomics
Precision Profiling of Cells: Insights from Imaging-Spectral Flow Cytometry and Single-Cell Multiomics
• Aruna Ayer, BD
Single-Cell Genotype and Targeted Gene Expression Assay
• Zivjena Vucetic, Mission Bio
Resolving Cellular Lineage and State in Tumors with High-Resolution Single-Cell Genomics
• Gary Schroth, Cellanome
From Cellular State to Disease Gene Prediction at Population Scale
• Kyle Farh, Illumina
Tumor Evolution & Clonal Dynamics: From Models to Monitoring
• Christina Curtis, Stanford
Personal Omics at Scale: What Longitudinal Profiles Add to Early Detection
• Michael Snyder, Stanford
Multi-Omics-Driven Early Detection: Beyond Liquid Biopsy
• Chair: Alex Aravanis, Moonwalk Biosciences
• Ash Alizadeh, Stanford
• Sara Ahadi, OmicsEra
AI in Molecular Diagnostics: Integrating Multi-Omics & Clinical Data
• Chair: Marina Sirota, UCSF
• Olivier Gevaert, Stanford
• Rebecca Critchley-Thorne, Castle Biosciences
• Lihua Jiang, Stanford
• Yunguan Wang, Cincinnati Children's
