Yusuf Henriques is the Founder & CEO of IndyGeneUS.
A serial entrepreneur, Henriques has founded or advised many Fintech and Health Tech startup companies. Through a nonprofit, Black Tech Matters, he mentors 21 startup companies in a business accelerator. He leads strategy for CreditRich and WePool Inc. Henriques also founded CodeClear Ventures, a new platform of diagnostics and pathogen detection tests for SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases using quantum dots chemistries.
Before CodeClear, Henriques founded TruGenomix Health Inc., an emerging precision genomics behavioral health company harnessing the power of genomics to improve risk prediction and diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The PTSD genomic assay (TruGen-1) that he developed used exclusive patented technology provided by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) and Max Planck Institute (MPI) and is now being piloted at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide to address the high rate of suicides in the veteran and active-duty population. Through collaboration with TruGenomix, the VA hopes to one day be able to identify genetic markers associated with PTSD and suicidal tendencies.
Henriques spent two decades of progressive roles in the U.S. Army and civil government services. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at 17 years old and served as a Combat Medic (91B) for 6 years. His service included deployments in Afghanistan, Korea, Bosnia and Germany. He was honorably discharged due to service-connected injuries during deployments. The medical discharge changed the trajectory of his career, but his passion for healthcare and public service motivated him to serve, off the battlefield.
As a consultant, Henriques advanced through many positions. He served as the director of Regulatory Affairs (GS-15) for SAIC (formerly known as Engility) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), overseeing regulatory compliance strategies for multi-site clinical trials. Henriques also served as a subject matter expert in regulatory affairs.
He served as lead regulatory scientist for the Strategic Innovation Group (SIG) at Booz Allen Hamilton (GS-15) and Senior Research Health Scientist (GS-14) for Outpatient Psychiatry at the James J. Peters Veteran Affairs Medical Center in The Bronx, NY. Simultaneously, he held dual appointments as a Senior Research Associate at ISMMS and as a grant administrator for all active NIH and DoD awards for Rachel Yehuda (Vice-chair of Psychiatry Department).
He was responsible for managing the scientific portfolio for a large multi-center clinical trial research in PTSD and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injuries) which totaled $45M under the VA Cooperative Study Research Program and the Department of Defense. Prior to working at the VA, he served as acting Branch Chief (GS-13/14) for the Ob/Gyn, Gastroenterology, and Urology Divisions in the Center for Device and Radiological Health at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Mr. Henriques earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Howard University, graduating magna cum laude. He enjoys soccer, reading and listening to reggae music. He is the proud father of four daughters including twins who are currently attending college.
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