Genomics in Health Congress

Rector of TecSalud and Vice President of Research at Tecnológico de Monterrey

Guillermo Torre, MD, PhD is one of the founders of the Transplant Laboratory at Houston Methodist Hospital and was a board member of the DeBakey Heart Center run by Houston Methodist Hospital and the University of St. Thomas.

He holds a degree in Surgery and Medicine from Tecnológico de Monterrey, with a specialty in Internal Medicine and a subspecialty in Interventional Cardiology, Heart Failure, and Transplantation from Baylor College of Medicine, and a Doctorate in Immunology from the University of Chicago.

Guillermo is a Level 3 member of the Conacyt National Research System, and has published more than 190 scientific articles with more than 12,000 citations, winning the SCOPUS award for the country's most cited author (2012). He has published five books and three patents (2 international and 1 national).

He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association; he is certified as a specialist in Clinical Cardiology by the Mexican Council of Cardiology and certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Heart Failure, and Transplantation by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

He is founder of the technology-based health company Nano4Heart and a board
member of Cardiol Therapeutics and Sulfagenics, a company dedicated to the
development of drugs for the treatment of heart failure.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Guillermo has been an active participant in the
development of strategies along with private and public sector leaders, including
the Foreign Secretary. In TecSalud, he has led research protocols for the diagnosis and
treatment of COVID-19, such as Phase 3 clinical trials of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
manufactured by the CureVac laboratory
Since 2011, he has served as Rector of TecSalud at Tecnológico de Monterrey. And
now also as Vice President of Research at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

He carried out research stays at the Institutes of Human Genetics of the Erlangen-Nürnberg University, of Toxicology and Pharmacology of the University of Würzburg, in Germany, and at the National Center for Research in Toxicology, FDA, Jefferson, Arkansas, United States.

Dr. Herrera has been developing two relevant lines of research in the area of carcinogenesis. He has published numerous articles in high-impact and indexed journals such as the International Journal of Oncology, Trends in Parasitology, and Mutation Research. He also has six book chapters, one of them in the prestigious edition of Advanced Therapy in Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.

He is part of the Academic Committee of the Biomedicine Unit, Iztacala School of Higher Studies; in the Ethics and Research commissions of the General Hospital “Manuel Gea González”; in the Investigation Commission of INCan; and in the Investigation Commission of the Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM. He belongs to the Academic Committee of the Doctorate Program in Biomedical Sciences, where he is a Professor. He is a member of the National System of Researchers and a permanent member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Mexican Academy of Sciences.

He headed the InCAN Research Directorate, from where he managed the Hereditary Cancer Clinic, the Prevention Research Center, and the Prevention Clinics in Torreón, Monterrey and Puebla. He is currently the Director of the National Institute of Genomic Medicine INMEGEN.

Jorge Valdez is a Surgeon, specialist in Ophthalmology with a Master's Degree in Medical Sciences and a Doctorate in Research in Surgery.

National Researcher level 1 from the National System of Researchers. Author of 5 books, 17 chapters and 111 research articles in the areas of Visual Sciences, History of Medicine, as well as Medical and Health Science Education. Has 25 years of undergraduate and graduate teaching experience.

He has senior management experience in the health sector in the areas of Strategic Planning, Quality and Health Education. He has chaired more than 5 national and international Medical Associations in the field of his discipline.

Dr. Valdez has been an accreditor on two occasions of the PUIS-SMO Biennial Ophthalmology Prize, the Coparmex National Health Prize, the "Dr. Carlos Canseco"; Medical Merit Medal, the Municipality of Monterrey, the "Dr. Jorge Rosenkranz” for Medical Research, Award for Scientific Career from the College of Surgeons of the State of Nuevo León, Award for Teaching and Research Work from Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Dr. Valdez is also a Fellow of the Mexican Academy of Surgery. Founding member of the National Academy of Medical Education.

Jorge E. Valdez García, M.D., MD-PhD, is the Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences (EMCS) for Tecnológico de Monterrey chairs the Pan American Ophthalmology Foundation and he is also President of the Mexican Association of Faculties and Schools of Medicine.

A world-renowned scientist and recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2011, Dr. Leroy Hood co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in 2000 and served as its first President from 2000-2017. In 2016, ISB affiliated with Providence and Dr. Hood became Providences’s Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer. He is also Chief Strategy Officer and Professor at ISB.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. Of the more than 6,000 scientists worldwide who belong to one or more of these academies, Dr. Hood is one of only 20 people elected to all three.

Dr. Hood has played a role in founding 15 biotechnology companies including Amgen, Applied Biosystems, Arivale, and Nanostring. He has co-authored textbooks in biochemistry, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, and systems biology.

In addition to having received 18 honorary degrees from prestigious universities in the U.S. and abroad, Dr. Hood has published more than 850 peer-reviewed articles and currently holds 36 patents.

Dr. Hood is the recipient of numerous national and international awards, including the Lasker Award for Studies of Immune Diversity (1987), the Kyoto Prize in advanced technology (2002), the Heinz Award for pioneering work in Systems Biology (2006), the National Academy of Engineering Fritz J. and Delores H. Russ Prize for developing automated DNA sequencing (2011), and the National Academy of Science Award for Chemistry in Service to Society (2017).

Dr. Carlos D. Bustamante is an internationally recognized leader in the application of data science and genomics technology to problems in medicine, agriculture, and biology. He received his Ph.D. in Biology and MS in Statistics from Harvard University (2001), was on the faculty at Cornell University (2002-9) and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2010. He is currently on leave at Stanford University. Dr. Bustamante has a passion for building new academic units, non-profits, and companies to solve pressing scientific challenges. He is Founding Director of the Stanford Center for Computational, Evolutionary, and Human Genomics (CEHG) and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Biomedical Data Science.

His research focuses on the discovery of genetic variation associated with type 2 diabetes and related traits, their functional characterization, and the translation of genetic findings to the clinic. As a research scientist at the Broad Institute, he has played leadership roles in the analysis of large-scale genetic datasets for the discovery of novel T2D-related genetic variants, through genome-wide association studies and whole-exome association studies, and development of polygenic risk scores, with a focus on diverse populations.

She obtained her M.D. degree at UNICAMP, followed by a medical specialty training in pediatrics. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience at McGill University, Canada.

Dr. Lopes-Cendes works in the field of neurogenetics, focusing on the study of genetic and phenotypic markers in neurologic disorders, such as epilepsy, Huntington disease, spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs), familial spastic paraplegia, and stroke. In recent years, her laboratory has focused on the use of new genomic techniques in order to answer some of these biological and clinical questions. Currently, her laboratory is a reference center in Latin America for next generation sequencing technologies, bioinformatics analysis of complex genomic data and non-coding RNAs.

Dr. Lopes-Cendes has served at the genetics commission of the International League against Epilepsy, the neurogenetics commission of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and she is currently serving in the international subcommittee of the AAN. She received several honors and awards for her scientific contributions, and she is an elected member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Lopes-Cendes is the head of the Neurogenetics outpatient clinic at UNICAMP University hospital, and she was responsible for introducing the first presymptomatic testing clinic for late onset neurodegenerative disorders in Brazil. She is also scientific advisor in patients’ advocacy associations (Brazilian Association of Hereditary Ataxias and the Brazilian Huntington Association)..

Bioanthropologist, director of the Research Group in Human Biology (GIBEH). His research is focused on the biological diversity of admixed Latin American populations. Currently, he coordinates the National Program of Reference and Biobank of the Argentinean Population (PoblAr) Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. PoblAr is a program of the Argentinean Ministry of Science to consolidate a center of reference and biobank of the Argentinean population. This initiative joins the efforts of geneticists, bio anthropologists, data scientists, and physicians from several institutions.

Is a molecular anthropologist interested in the application of genetic markers to answer questions related to the evolution of human populations and to identify the genetic risk factors involved in complex diseases. A major focus of his research has been devoted to exploring adaptation of human populations to different environments (e.g. evolution of pigmentary traits) and the demographic history of populations in the Americas. He also has been involved in genomic efforts to characterize the genetic architecture of a range of complex diseases and traits of biomedical relevance, such as type 2 diabetes, lipid concentrations, and anthropometric traits (e.g. Body Mass Index –BMI-, Waist-to-Hip Ratio –WHR). He is currently participating in several international consortia focused on this research (e.g. GIANT, Global Lipid Genetics Consortium –GLGC-), which include researchers throughout the world.

Prof. José Luis Santos is PhD in Biological Sciences (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program). His research interests focus on studying nutrition and human genetics in metabolic-based pathologies such as diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemias. Dr. Santos has further investigated the genetic determinants of eating behavior and its relationship with obesity. He is currently the Master of Nutrition program director at the School of Medicine of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He was the president of the Chilean Nutrition Society (SOCHINUT) in 2013-2015. He has been the lead author or co-author of more than 100 publications in indexed scientific journals.

Extraordinary Prize for a Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) in 1978 and a Doctor of Medicine from the same university in 1982 also with an Extraordinary Prize. He has been a professor of Legal Medicine at USC since 1989 and has been director of the Institute of Legal Medicine of the same between 1994 and 2012.

He coordinates the Genomic Medicine Group at USC, including ten research groups, state-of-the-art technology platforms, and nearly 100 members and research personnel of different nationalities. He is also the group head of the CIBERER (Center for Biomedical Research in Network of Rare Diseases) and Coordinator of the Genetics and Systems Biology area of the Institute of Health Research of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS). He has been a pioneer from the Institute of Medicine Legal de Santiago, leading since 1994 in introducing new technologies for forensic identification using molecular genetics. These techniques have been routinely implemented in laboratories around the world.

His professional career is also reflected in publishing research articles in journals with the greatest scientific impact. He has published more than 340 articles on genomic medicine, clinical genetics and forensic and population genetics. These have also been accepted by publications of the highest relevance, such as Science or Nature. In September 2015, he received the National Prize for Genetics (in its applied genetics modality).

Alejandro Macías is an MD who graduated from the University of Guanajuato (UG), where he is currently a research professor. He is a specialist in Internal Medicine and Infectology, a member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) level 3 and the author of more than 100 national and international publications in the area of ​​infections.

Dr. Macías is one of the great authorities in the country in the field of infectology, and according to lideresmexicanos.com, in the 2021 edition, one of the 300 Mexican leaders, placing him in position 182, with a probability of 87 percent of appearing in the 2022 issue.

In his professional career, his role as the health commissioner in the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic that occurred in 2009 stands out. From 2004 to 2014, he was deputy director of Infection Control of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition Salvador Zubirán. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Special Commissioner for the Attention of Influenza in Mexico.

He also highlights his contribution to disseminating scientific information about the pandemic. Today he is an influencer of social networks with more than 500 thousand followers on Facebook and more than 300 thousand on Twitter. He is dedicated to answering questions and recording videos that help users understand how the pandemic affects society—the benefits of using masks and face masks and detailed SARS-Cov-2 virus information.

Renowned infectious disease doctor responsible for the COVID-19 program at the ABC Observatorio Medical Center awarded as one of the 50 best doctors in Mexico in the 'Top Doctors Awards.'

Outstanding Mexican doctor specializing in microbiology and infectology, graduated from La Salle University (ULSA), with a specialization in Internal Medicine from the ABC Medical Center and a subspecialty in infectology from the University of Texas, where he obtained the Merck Award for the best resident of the state of Texas.

Dr. Moreno Sánchez has published more than 75 specialized articles, including 3 in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and has collaborated in 12 books as chapter editor and published 5 editions of the book 'El ABC of Internal Medicine. '

He currently offers consultations at the ABC Observatorio Medical Center in Mexico City, where he has been a full professor of the Specialty of Internal Medicine for more than 14 years.

Researcher in Medical Sciences "E," attached to the INMEGEN cancer genomics laboratory and member of the National System of Researchers (SNI) Level 3.

In 2004 he collaborated in the research lines of Population Genomics and Cancer Genomics, encompassing projects aimed at the characterization of genomic variability in the Mexican population and identifying alterations in the genome and transcriptome of human tumors, mainly breast cancer, among others Other themes. These lines have had significant contributions, such as identifying genes whose alteration in breast tumors were not previously described.

He has published 77 research articles in international and national journals and 6 book chapters. Many of the results of the lines mentioned above have been published in journals of the highest impact, such as Nature, Science, PNAS, Genome Research, among others and have about 7,000 citations. He highlights his participation as a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, member of the Council of the International Human Genome Association (HUGO), from 2014 to 2016 and member of the International Scientific Committee of the International Cancer Genome Consortium.

Víctor Manuel Treviño Alvarado has worked in the software industry, learning and suggesting solutions. However, due to his curiosity about research, evolution, adaptability and intelligence of computational systems, he approached Biology and Medicine. He earned a Master's degree in Molecular Biology and his Ph.D. in Biosciences with a specialty in Bioinformatics from the University of Birmingham, England.

Currently, he specializes in the analysis of cancer genomic data. His work in Bioinformatics related to Biomarkers for medical and biotechnological uses has allowed him to generate important publications in the scientific field with more than 4000 citations and acquired the National Researcher Level 2 (SNI-2) distinction.

Although in his time careers had specific and fixed focuses, Treviño Alvarado is considered an example that the discipline of specialization is malleable and can happen after finishing studies.