Win Hide applies systems biology approaches to genomic data to reveal and drug critical disease processes occurring in neurodegeneration. This makes it possible to build and implement systems that allow the discovery and prioritization of key target genes and processes involved in complex diseases like Alzheimer’s. He has been funded by key industry partners, including Biogen Inc., to develop translational pipelines for target prioritization. His bibliography details his research.

His work with CureAlz explores the controlling molecules (miRNAs) and genome variation in Alzheimer’s subjects to try and discover early biomarkers that can be detected in the blood, and upstream regulators of the initiation of Aleheimer’s. Using these, Hide is now developing ways in which we can enhance the body’s natural resilience against neurodegeneration – protecting before we need to treat.

Past activities

Win moved to Boston in 2019 from the UK, where he was professor and chair of computational biology at the Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience in the Department of Neuroscience and Department of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield. Before going to the UK, he was an associate professor of bioinformatics and computational biology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has been visiting faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and  was the founding director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute Center for Stem Cell Bioinformatics.

Training

Win received a bachelor’s degree in zoology from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and a doctorate degree in molecular genetics from Temple University, Philadelphia. He performed post­doctoral training at the University of Texas, Houston, at the Baylor College of Medicine and at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of Natural History. He gained industry experience in Silicon Valley at the MasPar Computer Corporation while serving as director of genomics.

Early work in South Africa

Win Hide founded the South African National Bioinformatics Institute, where he co­authored the South African Government Biotechnology Strategy. He won the Oppenheimer Foundation Distinguished Sabbatical Research Fellowship in 2007 and received the Oppenheimer medal.

Recognition

Win Hide was elected into the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2007 and recognized as a Legend of South African Science in 2017. He was the first recipient of the “International Society for Computational Biology Award for Outstanding Achievement,” given in recognition for work on the development of computational biology and bioinformatics in Africa.

Some details of Win Hides’ background