Leroy Hood

A pioneer in the systems approach to biology and medicine, Dr. Leroy Hood and his colleagues at Caltech developed the instruments that paved the way for the successful mapping of the human genome, prompting the Academy of Engineering to recognize him with the 2011 Fritz J. and Delores H. Russ Prize, awarded for automating DNA sequencing that revolutionized biomedicine and forensic science. A pillar in the biotechnology field, Dr. Hood has played a role in founding more than 14 biotechnology companies, including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Darwin, The Accelerator, Integrated Diagnostics and, most recently, Institute for Systems Biology, where he currently serves as president.

Dr. Hood’s work has been widely published, and he has coauthored numerous textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology and genetics, as well as a popular book on the human genome project. In addition to receiving numerous awards, including the Lasker Award, the Kyoto Prize and the Heinz Award in Technology, and 17 honorary degrees from prestigious universities in America and abroad, he has published more than 700 peer reviewed articles and currently holds 30 patents. Dr. Hood is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine, one of only 15 scientists worldwide that belong to all three academies. He is also a member of the American Philosophical Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.