Dr Ryan Taft is the Vice President, Scientific Research at Illumina in San Diego where he leads efforts to bring clinical genomic technologies to patients worldwide. He is also an advocate with governments, hospitals, insurers, and patient groups to harness the power of genetics to deliver answers to families with children suffering from rare diseases.
Dr Taft led a global team that discovered a new disease: HBSL. This disease discovery arose after a chance encounter put Dr Taft in contact with the family of a boy suffering from a mysterious developmental disease: Massimo Damiani. The story has been covered in media including ABC’s Australian Story.
He also sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Mission Massimo Foundation, the Wolverine Foundation, is a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of Global Genes, a leading rare disease advocacy organisation and is an advisor to several biotechnology companies. Dr Taft is the global lead of iHope, a philanthropic consortium of laboratories and clinics who have committed to providing whole-genome sequencing to underserved families. His publications have been cited over 9,400 times, with his work recognised by the Australia Museum Eureka Prizes and with a Biocom Catalyst Award.
To read more about Ryan, click here.
