Richard Klausner joined Illumina as Chief Medical Officer in September 2013.  Rick is responsible for Illumina’s strategies for advancing genomics into clinical medicine and public health.  He is also part of Illumina’s executive management team, which is responsible for directing all aspects of company strategy, planning and operations.

Prior to joining Illumina, Rick was managing partner of the venture capital firm, The Column Group.  Previously, he held roles as Executive Director for Global Health at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and as the eleventh director of the National Cancer Institute between 1995 and 2001.  He has served as chief of the cell biology and metabolism branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, as well as a past president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation.  He also has been Chairman of the National Science Education Standards Projects of the National Academy of Sciences.

Rick currently sits on the board of Juno Therapeutics.  He is also the Chief Strategy Advisor for USAID.  Previously, he was Chairman of Audax Health, as well as chaired the International Advisory Board for Samsung Medical and the Strategic Oversight Council of Sanofi. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Rick holds an M.D. from Duke Medical School.