Where data and DNA meet
It’s the early 1990s. Phil Hajduk is hunkered down in a lab in North Chicago, Illinois, where he’s focused on developing small molecule medicines that target cancer cells. It’s trial and error, with a dearth of data for this trained chemist to pore over and leverage for new technologies.
Across the state line in Wisconsin, Howard Jacob is serving as the founding director of the Human and Molecular Genetics Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. During his nearly 20-year tenure at the university, he will be part of the first team ever to use genome sequencing, or a full DNA blueprint, to diagnose and treat a patient.
Little did they know at the time, but these two PhDs working in different states on different types of science would end up crossing paths decades later. And not just cross paths, but bring their disciplines together to lead one of the largest data initiatives in the biotech industry.