SD EPSCoR News

SD Biotech Virtual Event: ‘Breakthrough 2020’

Posted on: September 21, 2020   |   Categories: Announcements, News & Updates
Sd Biotech Summit 2020

South Dakota Biotech held a two-day virtual event, “Breakthrough 2020,” on Sept. 28-29. The online summit and awards luncheon ran from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., both days.

View the day’s video.


From SD Biotech’s websiteAmazing breakthroughs are happening all around us, from human and animal health to agriculture. Collaborate with us on how we can continue breaking through the barriers of deploying these new technologies to heal, fuel and feed a growing world.

Monday, Sept. 28

  • 11:00-11:05 a.m. Welcome from Joni Johnson, SD Biotech Executive Director
  • 11:05 a.m.-12 p.m. Keynote Speaker — Brittany Sickler, Senior Innovation Policy Advisor Office of Innovation and Technology, Office of Investment and Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration
  • 12 – 12:15 p.m. Biotransformation R&D Institute Update
  • 12:15-1:15 p.m. Bioscience Post COVID-19: Opportunities & Challenges in Feeding, Fueling, and Healing Industry Sectors.
    – Eddie Sullivan, Ph.D. — SAB Biotherapeutics
    – Joe Jump — Senior Scientist, Novozymes
    – Alan Berry, Ph.D. — Senior Director of Microbial Development, Novozymes

Tuesday, Sept. 29

  • 11-11:05 a.m. Welcome from Sue Lancaster, SD Biotech Board President and Vice President of Corporate Development for South Dakota Innovation Partners
  • 11:05 a.m.-12 p.m. Supplier Fraud and the Loss of Two Taurus XL Rockets. NASA Lessons learned.  Keynote – Wade Krieger, a special agent of the NASA Office of the Inspector General
  • 12 – 12:15 p.m. USD Discovery District Update
  • 12:15-1:15 p.m. Meet South Dakota Manufacturers Specializing in the Life Sciences.
    Electronic Systems, Inc. — Gary Larson, President
    Falcon Plastics — Kyle Bender, Sales Account Manager
    Spartronics — Ryan Carlson, Site Manager
    B9 Creations — Dani Mason, Marketing & Communications Director

About South Dakota Biotech

For more than 12 years, this nonprofit organization has dedicated itself to developing biotechnology through expanding research, advocacy, funding, education, infrastructure development and promotion.

Headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., South Dakota Biotech strives to create an expansive bio-based economy in all areas of the life sciences, including human health, food and agriculture, and renewable energy biotechnology, to drive innovation to heal, fuel and feed a growing world.

To learn more, and to reserve tickets, visit this Eventbrite page.