Jonathan M. Rothberg, Ph.D.
Founder of 454 Life Sciences
Dr. Rothberg was born in 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering with an option in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S., M.Phil, and Ph.D. in biology from Yale University.
Most recently Dr. Rothberg completed the first sequence of an individual human genome (James D. Watson) and initiated the Neanderthal Genome project (in collaboration with Svante Paabo). Dr. Rothberg is the founder of 454 Life Sciences, Clarifi Corporation, CuraGen Corporation, The Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases, and the co-founder and Chairman of RainDance Technologies.
Dr. Rothberg was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the receipt of The Wall Street Journal's Gold Medal for Innovation for his invention of 454 sequencing, and The Irvington Institute's Corporate Leadership Award in Science. Dr. Rothberg has appeared on CNBC for his pioneering work in the field of genomic medicine and his scientific work has been featured on the covers of leading scientific journals including Cell, Science, and Nature. While at CuraGen Dr. Rothberg developed a series of new medicines, now in over 14 human clinical trials, for the treatment of a wide range of cancers.
Dr. Rothberg's invention of a new way to sequence DNA in the miniature – 454 Sequencing, first motivated by his son's visit to the emergency room, has ushered in the era of personal medicine, and is now in use at major pharmaceutical companies, universities, genome centers, and medical centers around the world. Dr. Rothberg was invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as a technology Pioneer for the commercialization of 454 sequencing and initiating the Neanderthal genome project. Dr. Rothberg is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University.