"I'm not talking about … flying to Mars or even Pandora, as much fun as that may be. I'm talking about the concept of using suspended animation to help people out in trauma."
— Dr. Mark Roth
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Roth
Mark Roth, PhD
- Professor, Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutch
- Adjunct Faculty, Biochemistry, University of Washington School of Medicine
Background
Dr. Mark Roth is a biochemist and cell biologist who studies “metabolic flexibility,” or how organisms like hibernating bears and squirrels can enter and exit dormant states. The goal of his work is to learn how to turn animals “off,” inducing a state of reversible suspended animation, which could protect against damage caused by extreme conditions. Dr. Roth discovered that certain compounds, such as hydrogen selenide, can be used to induce reversible dormancy, in which breathing and heart rate slow to a near standstill. His work using the related molecule iodide to treat heart attack in several preclinical models has been used in a multicenter Phase 2 trial in Europe and the US conducted by a company he founded: Faraday Pharmaceuticals. A pivotal Phase 3 is currently planned. In 2007 he received a MacArthur Fellowship, or “genius award,” for his research in suspended animation and in 2010 he delivered a TED talk about this work.
Education
PhD, University of Colorado, 1984
BS, University of Oregon, 1979