The video opens with an introduction to Dr. John Stuelpnagel, a UC Davis‑trained veterinarian who became a pioneering genomics entrepreneur. After earning a BS in biochemistry, a DVM, and an MBA, he co‑founded Illumina in 1998, serving as its first CEO and later COO. Following his departure from Illumina in 2009, he launched or chaired several genomics‑focused companies: Aresio (non‑invasive prenatal testing), Omicia (clinical DNA interpretation platform), Sequenta (immune‑sequencing for blood‑cancer monitoring, later sold to Adaptive Biotechnologies), and 10x Genomics (expanding the amount of DNA accessible to sequencing). In his commencement speech to veterinary graduates, Stuelpnagel recounts a near‑fatal mountain‑bike accident that spurred his shift from clinical practice to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of following one’s passion and embracing risk. He reflects on the rapid technological change his generation has witnessed—from punch‑card programming to smartphones—and predicts that genomics will be the defining driver of future transformation. He outlines how DNA sequencing, gene therapy, and gene editing will eradicate genetic diseases, personalize treatment for chronic conditions, cure cancer, and revolutionize agriculture, ultimately feeding a growing population and lowering healthcare costs. He urges the new veterinarians to apply their clinical reasoning to guide scientific, cultural, and ethical aspects of this change, encouraging them to seek purpose, adapt, and become leaders in an ever‑evolving world.
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It's now my pleasure to introduce our guest speaker, Dr. John Stupnagel. Dr. Stupnagel is a genomics entrepreneur. He received his BS in biochemistry in 1979 and his DVM in 1983, both from UC Davis. In 1997, he received his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. After an early career as a practicing equine and small animal veterinarian, in 1998, Dr. Stupnagel co-founded Illumina, which has grown to the leading supplier of tools for genetic analysis. He was Illumina's first chief executive officer and most recently chief operating officer. He left Illumina in 2009 to return to his entrepreneurial core with the goal to create genomic applications for healthcare using tools developed at Illumina. In 2009, Dr. Stupp-Nagel co-founded and was executive chairman of Aresio, which was developed and commercialized non-invasive prenatal genetic tests. In 2009, he also co-founded and is chairman at Omicia, which has developed and commercialized a clinical informatics platform to interpret DNA sequencing data for diagnostic testing. In 2010, Dr. Stupnagel joined the founders of Sequenta, which has— which he served as chairman to pioneer immune sequencing for the purpose of tracking the efficiency of blood cancer therapies. Sequenta was sold in 2015 to Adaptive Biotechnologies, where he remains on the board of directors. In 2013, he joined the founders of 10x Genomics, a DNA technology company that is changing the definition of DNA sequencing by expanding the genomic content accessible from sequencing, serving as 10x's chairman. I'm pleased to present Dr. John Stupnagel.
Missing the running of the Preakness, you must really be anxious to graduate. Thank you, Dean Lairmore, and the school for inviting me to speak at graduation today. It is a great honor to be amongst the first to welcome our new colleagues into the veterinary profession. When first asked to deliver the commencement speech, I did what many of you would do, go to YouTube. There's Steve Jobs, inspiring. There's Robert De Niro, shocking. And some incredibly funny high school graduates. Unfortunately, I'm neither shocking or very funny. I'm no Steve Jobs, but like you, I'm a veterinarian and a UC Davis graduate. And 33 years ago, when I was sitting in commencement, I was sure I knew my career path, just like many of you today know yours. I was going to become an equine practitioner and started my career that way in the Santa Ynez Valley. I later added cows and calves to the practice and after that sought the challenge of small animal medicine. I enjoyed practice, but after a near-fatal accident mountain biking— totally my fault— I decided to take on more risk, and I decided to pursue my passion. My passion. I had a desire to create something. To build something, to impact the world differently. So reluctantly, I left clinical practice and pursued a career as an entrepreneur. My work changed. I changed. 5 companies later, and with the creation of thousands of jobs, I have loved my career and the people I've been honored to work with. The DNA sequencing and array tools that we have developed have changed the pace of genetic discovery. These same tools, when applied to agriculture, changed breeding programs. The non-invasive prenatal test we developed using these tools changed maternal fetal medicine. With immunosequencing and liquid biopsies, we are changing the way cancer is diagnosed, monitored, and treated. 33 years ago at graduation, I was wrong about my career path. Today, some of you may be wrong about yours. If so, be reassured that your veterinary education has prepared you for whatever path you follow. It took me more than 10 years to realize my passion as an entrepreneur. If there are lessons in my journey, they would be to search out your passions professionally and personally, hopefully in less than 10 years and without a near-death experience, and enjoy that path of discovery, and through that discovery, embrace the changes that you find in yourself. As I was graduating, I remember reflecting on change, and I'd come to the conclusion that my grandparents' generation had experienced the most profound change of any generation. They had witnessed transportation move from horses to automobiles to airplanes. They saw communication change from newspapers to radio to television. Except that 33 years later, I was wrong about that too. It wasn't my grandparents' generation that has experienced the most change. It's my generation. The day I graduated, the only computer programming that I had done is with IBM punch cards. The day after I graduated, I left for a celebratory backpacking trip in the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area to be documented with Kodak film. And weeks after graduation, I began practice by strapping on a pager so that I could be alerted to emergencies, scramble to find a payphone, and call my answering service. Personal computers, the internet, email, Mobile phones, digital cameras, social media, apps. My generation has experienced the most change. Except that 33 years from now, when one of you is giving the commencement speech, you'll be able to say, "I was wrong again." For it'll be your generation that'll experience the most change. Change is accelerating. Change in my generation was fueled in large part by the integrated circuit. Much of the change in your generation is going to be fueled by genomics. With DNA sequencing and array tools, we are gaining an understanding of life. With gene therapy and gene editing, we're gaining the ability to manipulate life. Understanding and manipulating life will change our world. 33 years from now, I think we'll all be amazed at the change in medicine. For genetic diseases that have passed from one generation to the next, we will have the ability to permanently eliminate them. For chronic disease like heart disease and Alzheimer's, By then, we'll have identified the genetic risk factors and have the ability to edit them out of our cells selectively. For cancer, the most devastating genetic disease, we'll move from managing it to curing it. And our agricultural breeding programs will take place not in the fields and in the breeding shed, but in a test tube. I believe that we need these technologies to feed a hungry population. I believe we need these technologies to improve healthcare and control its costs. Understanding and manipulating life— some of you will be excited about the possibilities. Some of you will be apprehensive. Regardless, we are going to need young, bright, well-educated people like you to guide us scientifically, culturally, ethically. Embracing change, adapting to change, using your clinical reasoning skills to direct change, that is your future. Whether improving clinical practice or taking your education into uncharted territories, you are destined for a most interesting life. I stand in awe of all the potential sitting in front of me, and I welcome you to the ever-changing and exciting veterinary profession. Thank you.
