| Michael R Hayden | |
|---|---|
| Born | Capetown, South Africa |
| Residence | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Fields | Medical Genetics, Human Genetics, Personalized Medicine |
| Institutions | Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child & Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital Provincial Health Services Authority |
| Alma mater | Harvard University University of Cape Town |
| Notable awards | Gairdner Foundation Wightman Award (2011) Order of Canada (2010) Order of British Columbia (2009) Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year - Biomedical and Clinical Research, Canadian Institutes for Health Research CIHR (2008) |
Michael Hayden, MB ChB PhD FRCP(C) FRSC OBC CM (born November 21, 1951) [1] is a Canadian physician scientist. A Killam professor of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia and Canada Research Chair in Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Hayden is best known for his research in Huntington disease (HD). He is also the founder and director of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, part of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and affiliated with the Child & Family Research Institute and the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. Hayden is the most cited author in the world for HD and ABCA1. In 2010 he was awarded Member of the Order of Canada,[2] following his receipt of the Order of British Columbia in 2009. Hayden received the Canada Gairdner Foundation Wightman Award [3] in 2011, and in 2009 was named Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year and received the CIHR Michael Smith Prize in Health Research - Biomedical and Clinical Research. In addition to his academic work, Hayden is also the founder of three biotechnology companies, NeuroVir, Xenon Genetics Inc. and Aspreva Pharmaceuticals. He is the Chief Scientific Director of Xenon.
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Hayden’s research focus is primarily on genetic diseases, including genetics of [lipoprotein] disorders, Huntington disease, predictive and personalized medicine. Along with his research team, Hayden has identified 10 disease-causing genes, which includes the identification of the major gene underlying high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in humans. This gene, known as ABCA1, has major implications for atherosclerosis and diabetes. Hayden also identified the first mutations underlying Lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPL) and developed gene therapy approaches to treat this condition. He is also co-leader of the Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety project, a BC-led Genome Canada-funded, national strategy to prevent adverse drug reactions.
Hayden was born in 1951 in Cape Town, South Africa. After the divorce of his parents, when he was eight, Hayden was raised by his single mother. He originally planned on becoming a lawyer but instead opted for medical school, as he soon realized that as a lawyer he would not be able to bring about much change. In 1975, he graduated from the University of Cape Town as the top graduate in medicine, where he also received his PhD in Genetics (1979). He completed a post-doctoral fellowship and further training in Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Michael is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Clinical Genetics. He moved to Canada and joined UBC in 1983 from the Children’s Hospital in Boston, a teaching arm of Harvard Medical School.
He is married and has four children.
Hayden is the recipient of numerous prestigious honours and awards. In May 2011, he received the Aubrey J. Tingle Prize which is given to a clinician scientist whose work in health research is internationally recognized and has significant impact on advancing clinical or health services and policy research in BC and globally. In April 2011, he received the Margolese National Brain Disorder Prize, awarded to Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to the treatment, amelioration, or cure of brain diseases; the Killam Prize by the Canada Council of the Arts, in recognition of his outstanding career achievements. In March 2011, he was the recipient of the Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence for his outstanding contributions to the development of British Columbia’s life sciences industry; and the Canada Gairdner Wightman award, recognizing him as a physician-scientist who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in medicine and medical science. In December 2010, he was awarded the Order of Canada, which is the highest honour that Canada can give its citizens for exceptional achievement, merit or service. He also was awarded the Jacob Biely Prize which is UBC's premier research prize in 2010. In 2009, Hayden was awarded the Order of British Columbia. This highest form of recognition by the Province is given to a select few who have served with the greatest distinction and benefited the people of the Province, Canada and the world. In June 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Alberta. In 2008 he was named Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year by CIHR and was also one of the five finalists of the Globe and Mail’s 2008 Nation Builder competition which is equivalent to Canada’s Person of the Year. In 2007 he received the Prix Galien, which recognizes the outstanding contribution of a researcher to Canadian pharmaceutical research. Hayden was elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2005, the Royal Society of Canada in 1995, the Board of the American Society of Human Genetics in 1994 and the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 1992. In 2006, he received five different Entrepreneurial Awards including the Career Achievement Award from the BC Innovation Council and the BC Biotech Life Sciences award for Company of the Year.
Hayden initiated and led an international effort to bring benefit to a community living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. In collaboration with colleagues around the world, he spearheaded the development of a youth-friendly recreation, counseling, and Learning Centre in direct partnership with the township of Masiphumelele in Cape Town. This centre aims to promote responsible sexual behaviors among at-risk youth, empower HIV/AIDS-affected youth, and build a sense of self and community-participation within the township.
In 1999, when Hayden was co-chairing a meeting in Vancouver, for the Human Genome Project, and participants were planning the announcement of the first draft of the sequence, he thought of using art as a way for scientists to enter into a dialogue with the public, as a way to communicate the massive genetic breakthrough and its implications. He commissioned the Electric Company Theatre, to produce a play about genetics. In 2005, with the support of Genome Canada, he commissioned a play, The Score, which tells the story of a brilliant geneticist who discovers that she has the same Huntington gene that killed her mother. Ethical issues and genetic determinism then surface after she discovers that she is pregnant. The Score was adapted for the big screen.
Most recently, as part of CMMT’s 15 year anniversary celebrations, Hayden made the CMMT research laboratories available for an art and science exhibit, featuring the work of local artists that examined the integration of art and science.