Leroy Hood.

• Author: MCCARTHY, KELLY
• Position: Lynx Therapeutics Inc.

Former Bill Gates-backed biotechnology pioneer joins the board of Lynx Therapeutics as it takes the next leap in genomics discoveries.

IN 1992, VISITING SPEAKER and renowned biotechnologist Dr. Leroy Hood -- widely considered a founding father of the Human Genome Project -- captures the attention of a crowded lecture hail at the University of Washington in Seattle. The attendees are clearly captivated. One member in attendance is especially intrigued.

The subject of discussion is compelling new frontiers in biotechnology. Sitting in rapt attention, as it turns out, is Bill Gates, whose interest in the subject inspires him to attend several additional lectures by the esteemed scientist. Recounts Hood, "A friend of mine asked me to give a series of lectures at the University of Washington and invited Bill to come to them. He did, and afterwards we met for dinner to talk."

That conversation ultimately led Gates to provide a $12 million endowment which would serve as the basis for the founding of a molecular biotechnology department at the university that same year. Hood, who had been with the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for 22 years, joined the staff of the university to accept the appointment as the William Gates III Professor of Biomedical Sciences and chair of the new department.

It was an obvious fit for both the Microsoft mogul and for Hood. In a set of observations posted on his personal Web site, Gates has stated, "Sometimes people ask me what field I'd be in if not computers. I think I'd be working in biotechnology. I expect to see breathtaking advances in medicine over the next two decades, and biotechnology researchers and companies will be at the center of that progress.

While Hood is more likely to lend his services to scientific advisory boards such as Illumina Inc., Fisher Scientific LLC, Iceland Genomics Corp., and Immunex Corp., in July of this year he was elected a director of Lynx Therapeutics Inc. Headquartered in Hayward, Cal., Lynx is developing novel technologies for gene research and is providing DNA analysis services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agricultural industries.

Although Hood expects to be more involved in Lynx's business decisions and less so in its science, he doesn't necessarily see this as his strong point. "In general I don't join boards because I don't have the time," he confides to DIRECTORS & BOARDS in a recent interview. "I also think that I'm probably more useful giving...