Dr. Kári Stefánsson, is an Icelandic neurologist

Neurologist

A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...

, who is currently the President, Chairman, CEO and co-founder of deCODE Genetics

Decode Genetics

deCODE genetics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The company was founded in 1996 to identify human genes associated with common diseases using population studies, and apply the knowledge gained to guide the development of candidate drugs...

.

He was born in 1949 in Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

Education and early career

He received his M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

  in 1976 and his Dr. med. in 1986 from the University of Iceland

University of Iceland

The University of Iceland is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland, and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' school to a modern comprehensive university, providing instruction for about...

. He went to the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 and trained in neurology

Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...

, neuropathology

Neuropathology

Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole autopsy brains. Neuropathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology, neurology, and neurosurgery...

,and neurosciences and served on the faculty there for 10 years, from 1983 until 1993. Thereafter, he was a professor of neurology, neuropathology and neuroscience at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, from 1993 until 1997. Conconcurrently at that time, he was director of neuropathology at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital

Beth Israel Hospital

Beth Israel Hospital may refer to:*Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston*Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan*Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark...

, from 1993-1996. While in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, he and his colleague Jeffrey Gulcher decided to return to Iceland to perform genetic studies to determine multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...

 risk.

At DeCode Genetics

Kári Stefánsson founded DeCode Genetics in 1996 in the midst of concerns about privacy related to a large centralized healthcare database and the commercial use of health information and genetics

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

. As of 2003, nearly 100,000 of 285,000 Icelandic citizens have consented and given blood to DeCode Genetics for analysis. The process has linked the country’s genetics profiles with medical records and genealogy

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

 information. This has led to the discovery of the neuregulin-1 gene and its association with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

, a condition that Stefánsson’s brother has. In 2007, his compensation was $662,296. . He was on the Time 100

Time 100

Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.-History and format:...

list in 2007.