Gilbert Omenn, MD, PhD

Gil Omenn is Harold T. Shapiro Distinguished University Professor of the Gilbert S. Omenn Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, Internal Medicine, Human Genetics, and Public Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He served as Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and as Chief Executive Officer of the University of Michigan Health System from 1997 to 2002. He was Dean of the School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine and Environmental Health, University of Washington, Seattle, 1982-1997. He is the leader of the global Human Proteome Project (HPP) of the Human Proteome Organization (HUPO). His current research is focused on proteogenomics of alternative splicing in cancers. Splice variants are a major source of protein diversity in multi-cellular organisms with multi-exonic genes. Splice isoforms are good candidates for more specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets. He is author of 700 publications. Omenn has visited China 12 times since 1976. He is an honorary faculty of Peking Union Medical College, affiliate faculty of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, board member of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and a director of several biotech companies. He served as a White House Fellow at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and as associate director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and Office of Management & Budget. He earned the B.A. from Princeton University, M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and PhD in genetics from University of Washington. He is a musician and tennis player.