JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<div id="gene_container"></div>

JavaScript

function buildGeneContainerHTML(count, arr) {
    var html = "";
    // ...
    html += "<input type='text' size='20' value='' id='gene_autocomplete_field' name='gene_autocomplete_field' placeholder='Enter gene name...' /><br/>";
    // ...
    return html;
}

// ...
$('#gene_container').html( buildGeneContainerHTML(0, 0) )    

$("#gene_container input:[name=gene_autocomplete_field]").live('keyup', function(event) {
    if(event.keyCode === 13)
        return;
    refreshGenePicker($("#gene_container input:[name=gene_autocomplete_field]").val());
});

function refreshGenePicker(val) {    
    alert(val);
}