Stephen Friend

Stephen Friend is a prominent figure in the fields of genetic resilience, cancer biology, and digital health. He is the President and Co-Founder of 4YouandMe, a non-profit organization established in 2017 to help lower the burden of chronic diseases.12 Friend is also a visiting Professor of Connected Medicine at the University of Oxford and Chairman of Sage Bionetworks, which he co-founded.23

Career Highlights

• 4YouandMe: President and Co-Founder since November 20171
• Apple: Worked from June 2016 to November 20171
• Sage Bionetworks: Co-founder and President from June 2009 to June 20161
• Merck: Senior VP at Merck Research Laboratories from 2001 to 20091
• Rosetta Inpharmatics: CEO from 1997 to 20011

Achievements and Expertise

Friend's team at Dana Farber and MIT cloned the first human cancer susceptibility gene. At Rosetta Impharmatics, they developed RNA expression approaches to assess breast cancer aggressiveness.2 He is recognized as an authority in genetic resilience, cancer biology, and digital health, focusing on empowering individuals to manage their health using wearable technology.4

Current Focus

At 4YouandMe, Friend leads efforts to develop innovative, affordable healthcare strategies for preventing and managing chronic conditions. The organization uses smartphone apps and wearable devices to detect and track stress and individual symptom trajectories across various populations.4