Matthew Might (born 24 July 1981) is a

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, educator, and

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

administrator. Might serves as the director of the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute at the

University of Alabama Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

Education and career

Might received his bachelor's degree in 2001 and PhD in 2007 from

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, both in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

. In 2008, he joined the faculty at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, where he worked as a professor of computer science and

pharmaceutical chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and developmen ...

until 2017, when he moved to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. He was a visiting professor of biomedical informatics at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. Might is a White House strategist for the

Precision Medicine Initiative The All of Us Research Program (previously known as the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program) is a research program created in 2015 during the tenure of Barack Obama with $130 million in funding that aims to make advances in tailoring med ...

, and is an advisor for the

Undiagnosed Diseases Network The Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) is a research study that is funded by the National Institutes of Health Common Fund. Its purpose is to bring together clinical and research experts from across the United States to solve the most challenging me ...

. In 2017, he was given a Rare Impact Award by the

National Organization for Rare Disorders The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is an American non-profit organization aiming to provide support for individuals with rare diseases by advocating and funding research, education, and networking among service providers. It wa ...

. Might is the Chief Scientific Officer of the NGLY1 Foundation.

Research

Might's early work focused on

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

. In recent years, he has transitioned to personalized medicine and bioinformatics. Might wrote a blog post that went viral after his son, Bertrand, was diagnosed with

NGLY1 deficiency NGLY1 deficiency is a very rare genetic disorder caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in ''NGLY1''. It is an autosomal recessive disorder. Errors in deglycosylation are responsible for the symptoms of this condition. Clinically, most affecte ...

, a rare disease that was previously unknown. This widespread publicity allowed him to locate several other patients and generate data on the characteristics of the disease. Might used an

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

system he was developing called mediKanren to find out that Bertrand had

Pseudomonas ''Pseudomonas'' is a genus of Gram-negative, Gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae and containing 191 described species. The members of the genus demonstrate a great deal of metabolic diversity and consequently are able ...

, during a time when he was in critical condition.

Personal life

Might was married to Cristina Casanova in 2003 and they had three children. They divorced in 2021. His father was the president and CEO of

Cable One Cable One, Inc. is an American broadband communications provider. Under the Sparklight brand, it provides service to 21 states and 900,000 residential and business customers. It is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, though it does not serve that ...

, the cable-television division of the former Washington Post Company. His wife is the daughter of

Manuel Casanova Manuel F. Casanova is the SmartState Endowed Chair in Childhood Neurotherapeutics and a professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville. He is a former Gottfried and Gisela Kolb Endowed Chair in ...

References

External links

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Matt Might
- Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham Google Scholar Profile
Might giving a TEDX talk on his move in precision medicine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Might, Matt Living people Georgia Tech alumni University of Utah faculty University of Alabama faculty 1981 births