Jeffrey I. Gordon, M.D., the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor, has been appointed director of the University’s new Center for Genome Sciences.
The center is an interdepartmental, interdisciplinary and University-wide program strategically located adjacent to the Genome Sequencing Center (GSC).
Jeffrey I. Gordon
The new Center for Genome Sciences is the first of three major components to be implemented for BioMed 21, the University’s initiative dedicated to using the latest knowledge of the human genetic blueprint to develop new ways to diagnose, treat and ultimately prevent a variety of common human diseases.
“Not only is Jeff one of the University’s most valued and esteemed leaders, he also is internationally respected as one of the foremost scientists in his field,” said Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the medical school.
“He has been extremely influential in the exciting new field of translating basic genetic data into clinically relevant research, which embodies the goals of our BioMed 21 initiative.”
Based at 4444 Forest Park Ave., the new center will provide space for University faculty and students and bind together research and educational programs in comparative genomics and systems biology.
These emerging fields combine computational science with quantitative experimental biology to examine the origin, structure and function of the complex networks of genes and gene products that regulate cellular behavior.
Information gained through this research promises to lead to key insights about the basis of human health and disease.
“The new center represents a community of scientists with a broad range of research expertise who have come together to create an environment in which people can address fundamental questions in comparative genomics and systems biology,” Gordon said.
In addition to Gordon, other founding members of the center are: Mark Johnston, Ph.D., professor and interim head of the Department of Genetics; Sean R. Eddy, Ph.D., the Alvin Goldfarb Distinguished Professor of Computational Biology; Robi Mitra, Ph.D., assistant professor of genetics; and Barak Cohen, Ph.D., assistant professor of genetics.
Later this year, three other faculty members from the Medical and Hilltop campuses will join the five founding members.
Center members will provide new tools to GSC researchers to help interpret the vast amount of information being generated from ongoing sequencing projects.
Gordon joined the University faculty in 1981 and served as head of the Department of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology from 1991-2004.
He was also director of the University’s Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, which oversees graduate student education in the biological and biomedical sciences, from 1994-2003.
Gordon and his colleagues plan to take advantage of the center’s interdisciplinary environment to develop new ways to educate graduate and undergraduate students from multiple schools in the University and to promote career development of faculty.