Sounds of discovery ring at the Undiagnosed Hackathon
Dr. Cherisse Marcou rings a bell to celebrate after the Undiagnosed Hackathon team solved a rare disease case at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Sept. 23, 2025.
Alex Osiadacz/Mayo Clinic
Media Source: Mayo Clinic (USA)
Date: 8 October 2025
During the Undiagnosed Hackathon , which was hosted by the Wilhelm Foundation in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, each ring of the bell became a symbol of discovery and global unity. The momentum of the hackathon carried into Mayo's Rare Disease Symposium, where the conversation widened to global challenges in diagnosis and…
During the Undiagnosed Hackathon, which was hosted by the Wilhelm Foundation in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, each ring of the bell became a symbol of discovery and global unity. The momentum of the hackathon carried into Mayo's Rare Disease Symposium, where the conversation widened to global challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Keynote speaker Dr. Salman Kirmani of Aga Khan University in Pakistan, and a former Mayo Clinic physician, reminded the audience that for much of the world, even inconclusive testing remains out of reach. "Most families are not just undiagnosed. They are untested," he said. He noted another barrier: genomic reference databases remain overwhelmingly Eurocentric, skewing interpretations and limiting accuracy. "Data diversity is not a matter of fairness alone," he argued. "It is a diagnostic tool. Without it, families remain invisible."