HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Alabama is home to one of the world’s leading researchers in genomics medicine who is being honored at an international biotechnology convention this summer.
Dr. Howard Jacob of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is being named a “Future Leader” for his work using genetic sequencing and analysis to diagnose and cure childhood diseases. Dr. Jacob will be recognized for his work at the 2016 BIO International Convention in San Francisco later this month.
Dr. Jacob’s work with genome sequencing started at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where his team became the first in the world to identify and successfully treat a genetic mutation that was responsible for an undiagnosed illness in a child. Jacob then moved his team to Huntsville in 2015 where he established a medical center at HudsonAlpha to diagnose and treat childhood diseases through genetic sequencing and analysis.
“There are millions of people living with a rare disease and HudsonAlpha uses genome sequencing to find diagnoses and better treatments for those patients,” Jacob said. “I’m honored that I have the opportunity to showcase how we are changing lives through genomics.”
The “Future Maker” honor is awarded by an international vote and it is presented to researchers whose work has the potential for life-changing implications in the future. Dr. Jacobs is one of three “Future Leader” recipients this year. The other two leaders are Charles A. Mohan, Jr., the founder of the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, a leading patient advocacy group for mitochondrial disease, and Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, an animal genomics and biotechnology cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Davis who studies the use of animal genomics and biotech in livestock production systems.
BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood praised the three “Future Makers” for their accomplishments and their ability to be a force for change in the field of biotechnology.
“From biomedical research conducted in outer space to breakthroughs in genome sequencing that are allowing us to cure previously incurable diseases, BIO’s featured speakers will showcase a transformative new era of medicine pulled straight from the pages of science fiction,” he said.
The BIO International Convention is hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), which represents over 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, and related organizations in more than 30 countries. This year’s convention is expected to draw over 15,000 members, who are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products around the world.
