Leroy Hood is an American biologist. He won the 2003 Lemelson-MIT Prize for inventing "four instruments that have unlocked much of the mystery of human biology" by helping decode the genome. Hood also won the 2002 Kyoto Prize for Advanced Technology, and the 1987 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. His inventions include the automated DNA sequencer and an automated tool for synthesizing DNA. Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology. A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Lemelson-MIT Prize, endowed in 1994 by Jerome H. Lemelson, and administered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is awarded to inventors from the United States for outstanding achievement. ... In biology the genome of an organism is the whole hereditary information of an organism that is encoded in the DNA (or, for some viruses, RNA). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Kyoto Prize (京都賞) has been awarded annually since 1984 by the Inamori Foundation, founded by Kazuo Inamori (fortune from ceramics). ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease. ... The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is a non-profit research institution, located in Seattle, Washington. ...

Biography

Dr. Leroy Hood was born October 10, 1938 in Missoula, Montana. He is recognized as one of the world's leading scientists in molecular biotechnology and genomics. 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. One of this foremost goals is bringing hands-on, inquiry-based science to K-12 classrooms. Missoula, Montana viewed from the top of Mount Sentinel in 1999. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Genomics is the study of an organisms entire genome; Rathore et al, . Investigation of single genes, their functions and roles is something very common in todays medical and biological research, and cannot be said to be genomics but rather the most typical feature of molecular biology. ...

Hood was also a founding member of Amgen.

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. Dr. Hood has published more than 600 peer-reviewed papers, received 14 patents, and co-authored textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, and genetics, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the American Association of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Hood received a D.Sc. from Bates College in 1999. The Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. ... Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech)[1] is a private, coeducational research university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... The American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded as the Junto in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. ... Founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the United States provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. ... The Institute of Medicine, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, is an American organization whose purpose is to provide national advice on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine, and health (National Academy of Sciences, n. ... Bates College is a private liberal arts college, founded in 1855 by abolitionists, located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. ...

His professional career began at Caltech where he and his colleagues pioneered four instruments--the automated DNA sequencer and synthesizer, and the protein synthesizer and sequencer--which comprise the technological foundation for contemporary molecular biology. In particular, the DNA sequencer has revolutionized genomics by allowing the rapid automated sequencing of DNA. Dr. Hood was also one of the first advocates of and is a key player in the Human Genome Project--the quest to decipher the sequence of the human DNA. He also played a pioneering role in deciphering the secrets of antibody diversity. Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. ... A DNA sequencer is a machine to automatize the DNA sequencing process. ... The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a project undertaken with a goal to understand the genetic make-up of the human species by determining the DNA sequence of the human genome and the genome of a few model organisms. ...

In 1992, Dr. Hood moved to the University of Washington to create the cross-disciplinary Department of Molecular Biotechnology. In his role as the William Gates, III Professor of Biomedical Science, Dr. Hood applied his laboratory expertise in DNA sequencing to the analysis of human and mouse immune receptors and initiated studies in prostate cancer, autoimmunity, and hematopoietic stem cell development. The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. ... Bill Gates William Henry Gates III, KBE, (born October 28, 1955), commonly known as Bill Gates, is the co-founder and current Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft. ... Mouse embryonic stem cells with fluorescent marker. ...

In 2000, Dr. Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, Washington to pioneer systems approaches to biology and medicine. He serves as President of the Institute and continues to pursue his interest in biology, medicine, technology, development, and computational biology. The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is a non-profit research institution, located in Seattle, Washington. ...

Dr. Hood has played a role in founding numerous biotechnology companies, including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Systemix, Darwin, Rosetta, and MacroGenics. Amgen Inc. ... Applied Biosystems, Inc. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Merck & Co. ...

Dr. Hood was awarded the 1987 Lasker Prize for his studies on the mechanism of immune diversity; the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities Award for outstanding contributions to Biomolecular Technologies in 2000; the 2002 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for technology development; the 2003 Lemelson-MIT Prize for Innovation and Invention for the development of the DNA sequencer; the 2006 Heinz Award for his extraordinary breakthroughs in biomedical science; and the 2006 Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for his society-transforming use of information technology. In 2007 he was inducted into the Inventors National Hall of Fame. The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) is dedicated to advancing core and research biotechnology laboratories through research, communication, and education. ... The Kyoto Prize (京都賞) has been awarded annually since 1984 by the Inamori Foundation, founded by Kazuo Inamori (fortune from ceramics). ... The Lemelson-MIT Prize, endowed in 1994 by Jerome H. Lemelson, and administered through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is awarded to inventors from the United States for outstanding achievement. ... In 2002, the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and Infosys started the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award. ...

External links

• My Life and Adventures Integrating Biology and Technology Commemorative lecture given when awarded the 2002 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technologies.
• Biography of Leroy Hood at the website of the Institute for Systems Biology.
• Interview with Leroy Hood on the website of the Royal Society of Chemistry.