On May 9, 2024, the National Inventors Hall of Fame held its annual Induction Ceremony in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the latest class of inductees who have made exceptional contributions to society. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was a visionary sponsor of the event, which was hosted in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, founder of Solexa (acquired by Illumina in 2007) and firm client Biomodal, was honored among the 2024 inductees. Numerous Wilson Sonsini patents and innovation practitioners were in attendance, including partners Vern Norviel, Lou Lieto, Ali Alemozafar, and Derrick Rowe; senior patent counselor Bruce Kisliuk; and senior counsel Jeff Seidel, as well as chief licensing advisor Kathy Ku.

Wilson Sonsini extends its congratulations to Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, who, along with co-inductee Sir David Klenerman, invented Sequencing-by-Synthesis (SBS), a next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) method that made possible efficient, low-cost, and large-scale genome sequencing. Enhancing the understanding of life, SBS has enabled applications in genomics, medicine, and biology. Sir Shankar Balasubramanian holds 23 U.S. patents and serves as professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Cambridge and research leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute. He was knighted for his contributions to science and medicine in 2017, and his many awards include the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

To learn more about the National Inventors Hall of Fame, visit https://www.invent.org/inductees/induction.