1st ANNUAL DINNER >> January 15, 2002
Prior Recipients |
2005 LES Foundation Award Recipient
Keynote Speech:
"The Genome Revolution:
Implications for Biological Intellectual Property and Licensing"
Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of the Institute for Systems Biology
Dr. Leroy Hood is recognized as one of the world's leading scientists in molecular biotechnology and genomics. A
passionate and dedicated researcher, he holds numerous patents and awards for his scientific breakthroughs and
prides himself on his life-long commitment to making science accessible and understandable to the general public, especially children.
Dr. Hood earned an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1964 and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the
California Institute of Technology in 1968. Since then, his research has focused on the study of
molecular immunology and biotechnology. His interests also include autoimmune diseases, cancer
biology and mammalian development. Dr. Hood has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers
and co-authored textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology and genetics. He also
co-edited Code of Codes, a book discussing scientific, social and ethical issues raised by genetic
research. Dr. Hood is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society,
and the American Association of Arts and Sciences.
His professional career began at Caltech, where he and colleagues pioneered four instruments that
constitute the technological foundation for contemporary molecular biology. One of the instruments has
revolutionized genomics by allowing the rapid automated sequencing of DNA. Dr. Hood also was one of
the first advocates and is a key player in the Human Genome Project - the quest to decipher the
sequence of human DNA. He also played a pioneering role in deciphering the secrets of antibody diversity.
In 1999, Dr. Hood founded the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington to pioneer systems
approaches to biology and medicine. He is President and Director of this organization and continues with
his interest in biology, medicine, technology development, and computational biology.
Dr. Hood has played a role in founding several biotechnology companies, including Amgen, Applied Biosystems,
Systemix, Darwin and Rosetta.
Numerous organizations have honored Dr. Hood with academic and scientific awards for his study of immune
diversity, development of instruments to study biology and medicine, distinguished contributions to medical
science, improvements to diagnostic methods, and efforts to open doors for new treatments and cures. For
example, Dr. Hood was given the Lasker Award in 1987 for studies on the mechanism of immune diversity.
Dr. Hood also holds honorary degrees from Montana State University, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine of the City
University of New York, the University of British Columbia, the University of Southern California, Wesleyan
University, Whitman College, Bates College and Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Hood resides in Seattle with his wife Valerie Logan. They have two children - daughter Marqui, a student
at the UCLA Law School, and son Eran, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in geography at the University of Colorado.
Dr. Hood is an accomplished mountain climber and an avid runner who enjoys photography and science fiction.
Other honors and awards include:
- Distinguished Service Award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, 1998.
- Beckman Lecturer Award for Pioneering and Original Research in Laboratory Automation, 1998.
- Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for changing how
diagnoses are made and opening the doors for miracles in treatments and cures, 1994.
- Lynen Medal of the Miami Biotechnology Symposium, 1994.
Ciba-Geigy/Drew Award in Biomedical Research from Drew University, 1993.
- American College of Physicians Award for distinguished contributions in science as related to medicine, 1990.
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Johns Hopkins University, 1990.
- Cetus Award for Biotechnology, 1989.
Honorary Doctor of Science degree, University of Southern California, 1989.
- Commonwealth Award of Distinguished Service for work in developing instruments used to study modern biology
and medicine, 1989.
- Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for studies of immune diversity, 1987.
- Honorary Doctor of Science degree, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York, 1987