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Craig Venter, an American genomics researcher and founder of Celera Corporation and the J. Craig Venter Institute, died on April 29, 2026, of complications from cancer.
He was 79. Venter was known for leading one of the first draft sequences of the human genome and for leading the first team to transfect a cell with a synthetic chromosome. He also founded the Institute for Genomic Research and was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.
J. Craig Venter, 79, American genomics researcher, founder of Celera Corporation and JCVI, complications from cancer.