Team
Emilia is focused on the invention, development and commercialization of new medical therapies. At Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, her research focused on the development of novel biocompatible coolants to treat sleep apnea, as well as device-based treatments for peripheral neuropathy. Previously she worked in the design, conduct and analysis of clinical trials in dermatology. Emilia was a Fulbright-Schuman scholar to the European Union, where she studied methods of enhancing transatlantic research collaborations and emerging public private partnership models to accelerate medical innovation. She is a TEDx speaker and was honored as part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2017 in Healthcare.
Cyrus is passionate about drastically disruptive technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, nanotech, biotech, genetics, IT and cognitive sciences as well as their cross-pollination and impacts on society. He is currently leading a robotics (Autonomous Guided Vehicles) startup and a biotech venture. In 2015, Cyrus founded the AI Initiative, which he manages, by engaging a wide range of global stakeholders to study, discuss and help shape the governance of AI. Cyrus and the AI Initiative did, and continue to do so, through various international policy platforms (OEDC, HKS Forums, Japanese MIC, French Parliament, etc.) as well as AI ethics and safety initiatives. Cyrus spearheads several projects using innovative tools (such as the Global Civic Debate and its multilingual collective intelligence platform on the governance of AI) and works at using AI and Machine Learning to tackle policy issues. He is a Vice President at The Future Society 501(c)(3) and is a member of two Committees (Policy, and General Principles) of the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems. Cyrus was educated at Sciences Po Paris, where he later was a Lecturer, holds a M.A. (Hons) from Paris II University in Defense, Geostrategy and Industrial Dynamics and a M.P.A. for Harvard Kennedy School.
Pedro is interested in the intersection of brain, behavior, and technology. He is the founder and CEO of 14x Innovation Group (14X IG), a behavioral insights management consulting firm that helps organizations increase effectiveness through a unique blend of neuroscience, social psychology, and the Harvard Business School case method. Pedro is a Co-Instructor and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, where he co-teaches Motivation and Learning Theory. He also facilitates the Management Development Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the interfaculty Mind, Brain, and Behavior thesis workshops for Harvard College seniors. Pedro has been appointed South Carolina’s New Century Scholar by USA Today and the Coca-Cola Foundation, and was a Forbes 30 Under 30 finalist in 2016. He is a winner of the Harvard Leadership in Education Award, a TEDMED delegate, Magellan Scholar, Walker Institute Scholar, City of Columbia Fellow, TEDx speaker, Darla Moore Emerging Leader, and the youngest ever-appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Central Midlands Council of Governments. Pedro is the author of an upcoming book (Fall 2017) on Collaboration by Penguin Random House.
Jessica Cussins is the Director of Research at The Future Society. She graduated in May 2017 with a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a concentration in international and global affairs, science and technology policy. She Chaired The Future Society at HKS in the 2016-17 academic year. While at Harvard, Jessica worked as a Research Assistant at the Program on Science, Technology & Society, and was a Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellow working within both the cybersecurity and biosecurity programs. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and does consulting work on health data and biotech for several technology think tanks. She writes regularly for outlets including The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, and the Pharmaceutical Journal on the ethical, social, and political implications of consequential emerging technologies. She received her BA with Highest Distinction from the University of California, Berkeley.
Eleonore Pauwels is a writer and international science policy expert, who specializes in the governance of emerging and converging technologies. At the Wilson Center, she is the Director of Biology Collectives, within the Science and Technology Innovation Program. Her research focuses on the convergence of transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, genome-editing, digital bio-engineering and automation technologies. She analyzes the promises and perils that will likely arise with the development of the Internet of Living Things and future networks of intelligent and connected bio-labs. Her work also fosters the democratization of disruptive health technologies, including AI and genomics, and the inclusion of patients and citizens through participatory health design (her Citizen Health Innovators Project). Eleonore regularly testifies before U.S. and European authorities including the U.S. Department of State, NAS, NIH, NCI, FDA, the National Intelligence Council, the European Commission and the UN. But she is also well-versed in communicating complex and novel scientific developments for lay audiences (her TEDxCERN on CRISPR) and her writing has been featured in media outlets such as Nature, The New York Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, Le Monde, Slate and The Miami Herald.