When Data Saves Lives: The Human Impact of Genomic Intelligence
In a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in San Diego, a three-day-old baby named Fritz was experiencing up to a dozen life-threatening seizures each day. His medical team at Rady Children's Hospital turned to genome sequencing for answers, but traditional databases and Google searches came up short.
Then the team tried a specialized genomic intelligence platform—a tool designed to analyze and interpret genetic data—called Mastermind. It surfaced a single research paper linking Fritz’s specific genetic variant to seizures caused by a nutritional deficiency. With that insight, doctors adjusted his diet, and the seizures stopped. Today, Fritz is a healthy five-year-old.
The Needle in the Digital Haystack
Every day, over 3,000 new scientific articles are published. The total volume of biomedical literature doubles roughly every nine years. For clinicians and researchers in genomics, this creates a staggering challenge: how do you find the one piece of evidence buried in millions of papers?
“I was spending 50 hours a week on Google searches, trying to find papers with the same variants I was seeing in cancer patients,” explains Dr. Mark Kiel, founder of Genomenon.
That challenge led to the creation of the Mastermind platform.
But this problem isn’t unique to genomics. Professionals across industries are inundated with information and still struggle to surface rare, relevant insights. In healthcare, missing that insight can mean the difference between life and death.
Bridging Technology and Humanity
Genomenon CEO Mike Klein describes the company’s approach as “genomic language processing,” referring to an AI technology that recognizes the many ways authors describe genetic variants. The platform has indexed over 10 million full-text articles.
In Fritz’s case, Mastermind was able to surface a critical resource, but it was the medical team’s knowledge and judgment that turned that detail into a life-saving intervention.
This kind of human-tech partnership isn’t limited to medicine. From rare disease diagnostics to aircraft maintenance or financial fraud detection, it’s the combination of powerful tools and expert decision-makers that drive meaningful outcomes.
The Ripple Effect
Stories like Fritz’s are multiplying. Genomenon now supports over 250 labs and healthcare providers around the world—from Korea to Europe to South America—helping clinicians uncover similarly life-changing connections.
That kind of reach is the natural result of building something that works: a platform designed to solve a high-stakes problem that now improves care on a global scale.
Klein, an electrical engineer who began his career in factory automation, had his own experience that made the mission behind Genomenon deeply personal.
“My mother died of breast cancer 30 years ago,” he recalls. “There was no such thing as precision medicine then. Everyone got the same treatment. If one failed, you tried the next.”
That loss sparked his passion for precision medicine to enable faster, more accurate answers.
Lessons That Translate Across Industries
While Genomenon’s work is highly specialized, the principles behind its success apply across many fields:
Findability changes outcomes: Whether in healthcare, finance, or engineering, high-stakes decisions hinge on timely access to the right information.
Specific tools outperform generic ones: Specialized language requires platforms built for the task—not broad, one-size-fits-all search.
Humans remain essential: Even the best AI supports human decision-makers. Expertise is what turns information into action.
Mission attracts talent: Purpose-driven work draws in people who might otherwise never consider startups or early-stage innovation.
The Future: From Search to Answers
As large language models and generative AI evolve, the next leap forward will be about curating information into usable, actionable answers.
“We’re accelerating our ability to find connections across journals and curate this information,” says Klein. “We want to provide answers, not just articles.”
That’s a powerful shift. And across industries, similar transformations are unfolding. AI tools are being developed that help retrieve data and empower professionals to act with greater speed and confidence.
###
This article is based on an interview with Mike Klein, CEO of Genomenon, on the MSU Research Foundation Podcast. You can listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.