Ulf B. Gyllensten is a geneticist and Senior Professor of Medical Molecular Genetics at Uppsala University in Sweden, where his work spans human genome sequencing and gynaecological cancer research. He obtained his PhD in Genetics from the University of Stockholm, followed by postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and a position as a scientist at Cetus Corporation.
He joined Uppsala University in 1989, became a Full Professor in 1993 — a role he held for nearly three decades. He was named Senior Professor in 2023. Over his career, he has helped build much of Sweden's genomics research infrastructure, directing the Uppsala Genome Center for more than twenty years and later leading the Genomics Platform at Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) Uppsala. He has also held senior national leadership roles, including Chair of the Board of Sweden's National Bioinformatics Infrastructure and Scientific Director of SciLifeLab Uppsala.
His research centres on developing technology for complete genome sequencing and translating discoveries about the molecular basis of gynaecological cancer into improved diagnostics and screening. He has published over 350 scientific papers, holds several patents, and has served as main supervisor for more than 20 PhD students over his career, alongside numerous co-supervised students.
Gyllensten has served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Hereditas, sat on the editorial boards of leading genetics journals, and co-founded several biotechnology companies. His honours include Uppsala University's Rudbeck Medal (2019) and the Uppsala Medical Association's Olof Rudbeck Prize (2024).
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