Huntsville, Ala. – HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology has awarded the 2018 HudsonAlpha Life Sciences Prize to Charles Rotimi, PhD, for his genomics research in health disparities.
The Life Sciences Prize recognizes research in the life sciences that seeks to improve human or environmental health, or agricultural yields, while elevating research careers and endeavors for current and future students in biotechnology.
HudsonAlpha President and Science Director Richard M. Myers, PhD, presented the award to Rotimi at a public lecture held today at the Jackson Center on HudsonAlpha’s campus. Attendees gathered to hear Rotimi present, “Insight into the complex landscape of African genomes: implications for human history, health and disease disparities.”
“It is with great honor that I accept this year’s HudsonAlpha Life Sciences award conferred on me by the internationally recognized faculty of HudsonAlpha,” said Rotimi. “I am particularly proud of this award given the leadership role that HudsonAlpha plays in recognizing the critical need to increase diversity in genomic science so that tomorrow’s medicine and biotechnology will serve all humanity.”
Rotimi is the founding director of the Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health at the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Rotimi is particularly proud of his efforts to bring diversity to genomics and to use genomic tools to shed light on disease etiology in populations that will otherwise be under-represented or not represented at all.
“Dr. Rotimi has made, and continues to make, unique and significant contributions to the field of genomics, and we were honored to award him this year’s Life Sciences Prize,” said Myers.
HudsonAlpha also recognized Rotimi at the annual Spring Benefit Thursday, April 26. This year’s event celebrated HudsonAlpha’s ten-year anniversary and a Decade of Discovery.
About HudsonAlpha: HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a nonprofit institute dedicated to developing and applying scientific advances to health, agriculture, learning, and commercialization. Opened in 2008, HudsonAlpha’s vision is to leverage the synergy between discovery, education, medicine, and economic development in genomic sciences to improve the human condition around the globe. The HudsonAlpha biotechnology campus consists of 152 acres nestled within Cummings Research Park, the nation’s second largest research park. The state-of-the-art facilities co-locate nonprofit scientific researchers with entrepreneurs and educators. HudsonAlpha has become a national and international leader in genetics and genomics research and biotech education and includes more than 30 diverse biotech companies on campus. To learn more about HudsonAlpha, visit hudsonalpha.org.
HudsonAlpha Media Contact:
Margetta Thomas
mthomas@hudsonalpha.org
256-327-0425
