Hugo Alberto Barrera Saldaña, PhD
Self-educated Biochemist (majored in Biology but complemented with many courses of the Chemistry-Microbiology major) from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL).
Doctor in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Texas at Houston (UTH). Post-doctorate at the Insitute de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC) of the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France. Science and technology commercialization Specialist from the University of Texas at Austin. Clinical Research Specialist from Tecnologico de Monterrey.
• Member of the National Researcher´s System (SNI) since its inception and currently at maximum Level.
• Founder of the Genetic Engineering and Gene Expression, Molecular Diagnostics, and Medical Biotech Units, Department of Biochemistry, UANL’s School of Medicine, of which was chair from 1994-2003.
• Creator of the Graduate Programs of Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology, and of Biotechnology Genomics of UANL and National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), respectively.
• Also, of the Genomic Biotechnologist Major of the School of Biology, and of the Technology Transfer Center in UANL.
• Author of ~200 peer-reviewed publications with >3000 citations, of three international biomedicine books, of two national educational books and of one book on the history of medicine in NE Mexico.
• The inventor of two biotech patents and champion of several techs transfers to the Mexican BIO Industries.
• Director and Co-director of more than a hundred graduate theses (80 M. Sc. and 40 Ph.D.).
Awards
Recipient of numerous research awards, including 20 from the UANL and more than twenty nationals including the National Food (1987), the “Dr. Jorge Rosenkranz” (Syntex) Medical Research (1989, 2005, and 2012) and several of the Pharmacy National Chamber.
Affiliations
Member of prestigious Societies in the country (National Academies of Science and of Medicine) and from abroad (HUGO), as well as an invited professor of courses of national, LATAM, and Spanish universities.
History
He helped to modernize genetics research units in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. In Mexico, he is recognized as a pioneer of the molecular diagnoses of various diseases, of human molecular biology research, and of gene therapy (led the first clinical trial in LATAM).
He helped researchers from Genentech Inc. to establish in 1988 the world record for sequencing human genes, discussed in the journal Science as evidence of the feasibility of the Human Genome Project. And from the Broad Institute (Harvard/MIT) and the Mexican Institute of Genomic Medicine, to reveal the landscape of genomic alterations in cervical cancer.
His application of the above world record allowed him in 1996 the design a molecular test for diagnosing Isolated human growth hormone (GH) deficiency, considered the first drug’s companion diagnostic test (personalized medicine) to be invented worldwide.
His work on regulation, evolution, dysfunction, and biotech use of GH genes gained world recognition.
The prestigious journal Nature Medicine published his profile in the July 2003 issue, “El Norte” newspaper his biography in February 2000, and the LATAM magazine “Contenido” an interview in 2005. UT-Houston in 1998 selected him as a Distinguished Alumnus and as a super panelist on its 50th anniversary.
He organized and coordinated the National Scientific Committee of BioMonterrey, presided review committees of CONACYT and SNI, acted as Technical Secretary of the Week of Health Culture and Quality of Life of the Universal Forum of Cultures, was member of the National Advisory Council CIBIOGEM, and the “architect” of the New Trends in Medicine and Technology CONACyT’s national network.
He headed the Secretary of Science and Technology, the Laboratory for Genomics and Bioinformatics and the Medical Biotechnology Unit, all of the UANL´s School of Medicine until its retirement early in 2018. Now, he is a professor of Precision Medicine at the health component (TecSalud) of ITESM.
He is Founder and General Director of the Consulting Firm in Health Genomics and Biotechnology “INNBIOGEM, S.C”. And of the personalized medicine pioneer Diagnostic Laboratory “VITAGÉNESIS, SA”; both incubated in UANL´s Center for Enterprises Incubation. More recently he started Proinnovita AC, as a foundation to promote population preventive precision medicine.
He was declared distinguished citizen and awarded the Medal of Academic Merit at the fiftieth anniversary of the emancipation of his hometown (Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas), the Governor of his home state also declared him most distinguished scientist, and the Mexican Academy of Sciences (Northeast section) and of Medicine recognized him as the most distinguished fellow.
He has been awarded the Medal of Merit "Dr. Carlos Canseco ", in the area of Scientific Research, granted by the Major of the city of Monterrey; the Medal of Scholar Merit "Dr. Jorge Brenes Anaya” by the North American Mexico University, A. C.; the Luis Elizondo Prize for scientific achievements from ITESM; and the Aida Weiss Foundations Prize for scientific achievements in Medical Genomics.
