Kristi Heim Joins BGI as Senior Director of Business Development and Communications

SEATTLE, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BGI today announced that Kristi Heim has joined BGI as Senior Director of Business Development and Communications.

In this role, Ms. Heim will oversee BGI's growing partnerships with industry-leading innovators in the Seattle area, and develop communications strategies for the organization's growth in the United States and globally.

BGI, one of the largest genomics organizations in the world, is a leader in pursuing the vision of using genomics to benefit humanity. Headquartered in Shenzhen, with offices around the world, it has made major scientific breakthroughs in sequencing human genomes and the genomes of crops, animals and microbes.

Ms. Heim brings decades of experience as a communicator, journalist, China specialist and expert in international business development and diplomacy. Most recently she served as president of the Washington State China Relations Council (WSCRC), a non-profit organization promoting ties between Washington State and China. At WSCRC, she helped build partnerships between BGI and institutions in Washington State.

"Kristi's experience and leadership in building international partnerships and communications strategies will be instrumental in supporting BGI's global growth," said Yiwu He, BGI's Global Head of R&D. "We are very excited to have her as part of our team."

"BGI is a uniquely collaborative company with a vision of advancing science to improve the lives of people around the world," Heim said. "I am thrilled to support BGI's international growth efforts. Seattle is the perfect place to build our presence and expand our partnerships."

Ms. Heim has more than 15 years of experience working with China in business, academia and media.

Before joining the Council in 2014, she managed programs related to China and Asia at the University of Washington. Prior to this, Ms. Heim, who is fluent in Chinese, was an award-winning journalist for the Wall Street Journal, the Seattle Times, and the San Jose Mercury News.

In Seattle, BGI has multiple partnerships with several leading research institutes in the area, including University of Washington Medicine, to collaborate on precision medicine and accelerate the application of new sequencing technologies developed by BGI to human health.

BGI also has a long-term partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focused on projects and strategies to apply genomic tools to improve global health and agricultural development.

BGI has partnered with Washington State University to cooperate on programs in basic and applied research, technology and information transfer, and economic development.

SOURCE BGI

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