Genomics and Precision Medicine Pioneer Jonathan Rothberg to Deliver Connected Health Conference Keynote on Transforming Healthcare with Semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence

Oct 26, 2016

ARLINGTON, VA (October 26, 2016) – The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) today announced that genomics and precision medicine pioneer, Jonathan Rothberg, MS, MPhil, and PhD, will deliver a keynote presentation at the Connected Health Conference on Monday morning, December 12, 2016. Rothberg's keynote will focus on the integration of novel medical devices with deep learning and cloud computing to transform and democratize healthcare. 

"It is an honor to have Dr. Rothberg address our Connected Health Conference delegation. His presentation  will highlight critical opportunities to apply technology to advance anywhere diagnostics and point of care delivery,"  said Richard Scarfo, Vice President, PCHAlliance, and Director, Connected Health Conference.

In May of this year, President Obama named Dr. Rothberg a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The award, personally bestowed by the President, is the nation’s highest honor for technical achievement and innovation. Dr. Rothberg was recognized for pioneering next-generation sequencing, a key technology enabling personalized medicine and genomics, and underlying the recently established National Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Rothberg is best known for inventing and commercializing high-speed, “Next-Generation” DNA sequencing. He sequenced the first personal genome, James Watson’s, and with Dr. Svante Paabo decoded the Neanderthal Genome. With collaborators, he undertook the first deep-sequencing of cancer, helped advance understanding of the mystery behind the disappearance of the honey bee, and elucidated the extent of human variation. The New England Journal described Dr. Rothberg’s innovation as enabling "The New Age of Molecular Diagnostics" and Science Magazine has twice named his work as a breakthrough of the year. 

Dr. Rothberg was born in 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut. He earned a BS in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MS, MPhil, and PhD in biology from Yale University; he holds an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Rothberg is the first person to be named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer four times. He also received The Wall Street Journal's First Gold Medal for Innovation, Nature Methods First Method of the Year Award, the Connecticut Medal of Technology, and the DGKL Biochemical Analysis Prize. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. He was named a life trustee of Carnegie Mellon University, is an Adjunct Professor of Genetics at the Yale School of Medicine, and is the founder and Chairman of 4Catalyzer.

Hosted by PCHAlliance, the Connected Health Conference will take place December 11-14, 2016, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington, DC, focusing on the theme “Personal Connected Health for All: Expanding Reach, Accelerating Impact.” Formerly the mHealth Summit, the Connected Health Conference was renamed this year to better reflect an increasingly consumer-centered, technology-enabled and collaborative approach to improving health and wellness.

The 2016 Connected Health Conference will showcase the research, evidence, best practices and practical skills supporting positive health outcomes, and promote a collective call to action to reimagine health and wellbeing. In line with PCHAlliance's mission, the conference will also provide opportunities to learn and develop skills that can be immediately applied to advance the adoption and implementation of personal connected health in community and public health as well as healthcare settings.

GENERAL REGISTRATION:  To register for the Connected Health Conference, visit http://www.pchaconference.org/

MEDIA REGISTRATION:  For more information about the PCHAlliance’s Connected Health Conference, or for complimentary Media Registration, please contact Gina Cella at 857-239-9198 or gcella@pchalliance.org.

About 4Catalyzer

4Catalyzer is a Startup Accelerator dedicated to maximizing societal impact. We are transforming 21st century medicine by solving today’s most challenging problems through the creation of an ecosystem and virtuous cycle around novel Semiconductor based devices, the cloud, and Deep Learning. Our current startup class has raised over $200 million dollars of private capital from healthcare investors, Stanford University, and prominent institutions seeking to improve the state of the world with new devices and computing methods. We are motivated by the idea that our products will save the lives of people we love.

About the Connected Health Conference

The Connected Health Conference, formerly the mHealth Summit, is the premier international conference and expo for the exchange of research, evidence, ideas, innovations and opportunities in connected health. In its eighth year, the event features industry-leading keynote presentations, four tracks of dynamic programming, poster presentations, an interactive exhibit floor, pre-conference symposia and high-value networking sessions. The Connected Health Conference is presented by the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance), a HIMSS organization.

About the Personal Connected Health Alliance

The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) is a HIMSS organization, working collaboratively to achieve personal connected health for all. PCHAlliance is collaborating with industry, healthcare, public policy, research and advocacy groups to support the sustained adoption of personal connected health, working toward a world in which personal connected health supports a new norm of personal health engagement and responsibility, positive behavior change and improved health outcomes.