IndyGeneUS AI Awarded Grant Funding through QuickFire Challenge
Washingtoner/10169371

WASHINGTON - Washingtoner -- Today, IndyGeneUS AI was named an awardee of the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Veterans Lead QuickFire Challenge: Innovations by Vets.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation, together with Bunker Labs, a national nonprofit organization that aims to equip the military-connected community with the network, tools, and opportunities needed to launch and grow successful businesses, invited U.S. Veteran innovators and military spouses/legal partners to submit potentially ground-breaking ideas in all aspects of human healthcare.

The black-owned and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned Small Business (SDVOSB), IndyGeneUS AI, pitched their cutting-edge blockchain-encrypted and machine learning-powered bioinformatics "GenēUS™ Discovery Platform" to a panel of judges, which included both Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Bunker Labs executives.

"It's extremely important that we support the visions of our veterans," says Lenore Karafa, Board Member President of Bunker Labs. "I was excited to learn about the mission of IndyGeneUS AI, during their pitch and the hard work and dedication they are pouring into eradicating health disparities."

More on Washingtoner

• Tacoma: Homicide Investigation – 5100 S 58th Street
• Huntington Learning Center of Russellville Marks 1 Year Anniversary; Extends Reduced Grant-Aligned Rates to All Students in Learning Center Services
• CCHR Supports Call to End Coercive Psychiatry at World Mental Health Congress
• purelyIV Expands Wellness Services with Flu/COVID Testing and Menopause Coaching & Treatment
• WHES Retains BloombergNEF Tier 1 Ranking for Sixth Consecutive Quarter

IndyGeneUS AI is a precision genomics company aiming to create the world's largest blockchain-encrypted digital health platform of indigenous and diasporic African clinical and genomic data. Using proprietary technology, IndyGeneUS AI can potentially detect novel signature sequences, identify biomarkers, and calculate polygenic risk scores by integrating multi-omics data, electronic health record (EHR) data, and other textual information such as scientific manuscripts.

"This is literally a dream come true, and a bit nostalgic," said IndyGeneUS AI Founder, Yusuf Henriques. "Today, IndyGeneUS AI has its first lab set up at JLABS @ Washington, DC at Children's National new Research and Innovation Campus, on the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus. A site where I walked the halls as a combat medic in the U.S. Army, over 20-years ago. Now, I have an opportunity to identify novel cell & gene therapies that will hopefully address health disparities and rare diseases like retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which my twin daughters were diagnosed with in 2014.  This is my opportunity to deliver on the promise that I made my girls to find better treatment options or a cure."

To aid in this mission, IndyGeneUS AI will provide workforce economic development to engage minority young men and women who desire to learn more about genomics and driving precision care through careers in biotech.

More on Washingtoner

• U.S. Entrepreneur Anjo De Heus Builds Innovation Bridge Between America and the Gulf
• UK Financial Ltd Confirms All 8 Mexican Gold Mines Exist — Audited and Backing UKFL's Ecosystem With Double the 2018 Gold Value
• Veterans Day 2025: Honoring Service Through Storytelling
• Kaltra Offers Microchannel Condensers Optimized for Low-GWP Refrigerants R454B, R32, and R290
• Putting Your Roses to Bed for Winter in the Deep South - A Gentleman's Guide to Fall Rose Care

In addition to being awarded the QuickFire Challenge, IndyGeneUS AI officially became a resident at JLABS @ Washington, DC on May 1st. IndyGeneUS AI has a strong commitment to driving precision health equity. Ninety percent of IndyGenUS' executive leadership and advisors are Howard University Alumni. The company will focus on whole genome sequencing which utilizes multiple next-generation DNA sequencing platforms and methodologies to identify genetic drivers of conditions disproportionately impacting Black, Brown, and Indigenous populations.

"We are leveraging genetic diversity via large-scale whole-genome sequencing to advance the understanding of the causes of human biology, health, and disease," said Dr. Bradford Wilson, IndyGeneUS AI -Chief Scientific Officer. "This will lay the foundation for precision therapeutics to reduce or eliminate health disparities globally."

For more information about IndyGeneUS AI visit: https://indygeneus.ai. For media inquiries contact: Angel Livas at angel@indygeneus.ai.