Special Interview with Prof. Stephen Kingsmore
On June 25, 2025, we had the pleasure of conducting an exclusive interview with Prof. Stephen Kingsmore, President and CEO of Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine in San Diego, USA. Prof. Kingsmore is renowned for his pioneering work in rapid whole-genome sequencing (rWGS) for critically ill infants. In this insightful interview, Prof. Kingsmore shared his expertise on rWGS in newborns, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in genomics, key ethical and privacy considerations, and his personal journey in genetic research.
Below are questions from the interview:
1: You've led groundbreaking work in rapid whole-genome sequencing (rWGS). Could you share what motivates your continued focus on shortening the diagnostic journey for critically ill infants?
2: Has your team started integrating AI tools into sequencing pipelines? Are there areas where machine learning has already made a clear difference?
3: With the popularization of newborn genetic screening, the public is increasingly concerned about privacy and ethical issues. How do you think we should balance medical benefits and ethical responsibilities in genomic screening for infants and young children?
4: Today, many young scientists and clinicians are entering the field of genomic medicine. Looking back, are there any memorable or even humorous moments from your early career that you'd like to share?
About Prof. Stephen Kingsmore:
Prof. Stephen F. Kingsmore is President and CEO of Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine at Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, where he is leading the implementation of pediatric genomic/precision medicine at an unprecedented scale. Previously, he was the Dee Lyons/Missouri Endowed Chair in Genomic Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and Director of the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City. He has also served as President and CEO of the National Center for Genome Resources (Santa Fe, NM), COO of Molecular Staging Inc., Vice President of Research at CuraGen Corporation, Founder of GatorGen, and Assistant Professor at the University of Florida's School of Medicine.
Prof. Kingsmore received his MB, ChB, BAO, and DSc degrees from Queen's University Belfast. He trained in clinical immunology in Northern Ireland, completed his internal medicine residency and fellowship at Duke University Medical Center, and is a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.
His accolades include MedScape's Physician of the Year (2012), the Scripps Genomic Medicine Award (2013), and the ILCHUN Prize from the Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2013). TIME magazine recognized his rapid genome diagnosis work as one of the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2012. In March 2015, he set a new record by reducing sequencing time to just 26 hours---a feat recognized by Guinness World Records in April 2016 as the fastest genetic sequencing in the world.
Editor: Yana Wei
Production Editor: Ting Xu
Respectfully submitted by the Editorial Office of Journal of Translational Genetics and Genomics
