Biography
Howard J. Jacob, Ph.D., brings decades of genome knowledge from academia and the clinical setting to address the current state of whole genome sequencing and its potential for both patients and those interested in learning more about their own DNA. Jacob is the Vice President and Head of Genomics and Data Integration at AbbVie and Distinguished Research Fellow and member of the scientific Governing Board. He joined AbbVie in January 2019 to lead one of the largest Genomics Research Center efforts in the field with access to over one million genomes and clinical data. In addition, he leads AbbVies RD-wide Data Integration Program (called Convergence) which brings together all types of data to create knowledge to solve and ultimately improve treatment for patients. The Convergence team recently launched the AbbVie Research Collaborative, a health data platform that enables patients to share their health data with AbbVie researchers to help advance the development of new medicines.Jacob earned his Ph.D. at the university of Iowa and then completed a post-doctorate with Eric Lander and Victor Dzai at MIT, Harvard, and Stanford. Prior to his work at AbbVie, he led the clinical teams at the worlds first stand-alone genomic medicine clinic, as well as a whole genome clinical sequencing lab. Jacob has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles. He founded four companies and is on the advisory boards for numerous academic and commercial organizations.As a pioneer and leader in genomics, in 2009, Howard and his team at the Medical College of Wisconsin were the first in the world to use genomic sequencing to save the life of a patient, Nicholas Volker. Nicholas story was highlighted in a Pulitzer Prize winning series in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.