June Grant Update

Congratulations to our JCVI Principal Investigators for the several successful grants that were awarded or that we received notification of in the month of June. All of the following PIs received official confirmation of awards to be made to them. Christopher Dupont, John Glass, Granger...

Q&A with Jessie J. Knight, Jr.

The JCVI CEO Council is a small group of distinguished men and women who are thought leaders in business, medicine, law, the arts and humanities, and community affairs. JCVI is fortunate to have individuals willing to serve as knowledgeable and enthusiastic ambassadors for our scientists and...

JCVI Scientist Tackles Global Sanitation Challenges

Orianna Bretschger received her B.S. in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Northern Arizona. After a five- year career in aerospace and consulting, she completed a PhD in Materials Science at the University of Southern California. Eager to focus her efforts on alternative energy...

Dr. Venter Delivers UCSD 2015 School of Medicine Commencement

Full text for the address follows. J. Craig Venter, PhD, UCSD , 2015 School of Medicine Commencement Address Chancellor Khosla, Dean Brenner, Dean Savoia, UC Regent Charlene Zettel, UC Regent Sheldon Engelhorn, invited guests, families and graduates, thank you for inviting me...

Johns Hopkins Announces Inaugural Recipient of Hamilton Smith Award for Innovative Research

JCVI's Hamilton O. Smith, MD has been recognized by Johns Hopkins University with a research award in his honor. The inaugural recipient of the award is Jie Xiao, an associate professor of biophysics and biophysical chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr....

Meet Richard Scheuermann, Ph.D., JCVI’s Director of Bioinformatics

Richard H. Scheuermann, Ph.D., who joined JCVI in 2012 from the University of Texas Southwestern as the Director of Bioinformatics, is an accomplished researcher and educator. He and his team apply their deep knowledge in molecular immunology and infectious disease to develop novel...

Zoo in You Exhibit Now Open

Did you know trillions of microbes make their homes inside your body? In fact, these microorganisms outnumber our human cells 10 to 1, “colonize” us right from birth, and are so interwoven into our existence that without each other, none of us would survive! Thanks to new sophisticated...

In Memory of Dr. J. Robert Beyster

The JCVI family mourns the loss of a true friend and generous supporter, Dr. J. Robert Beyster.  Dr. Beyster was a World War II Veteran, a nuclear engineer whose research propelled the Department of Defense's weapons systems and submarines into the future of war fighting, but most notably,...

Science on the Sea Ice Edge

On Sunday, December 14th JCVI scientists Andy Allen, Erin Bertrand, and Jeff Hoffman flew to New Zealand to begin the arduous journey to the sea ice edge of Antarctica. The JCVI team was joined by three members of the University of Southern California, led by David Hutchins, and three members...

Construction of an Escherichia coli genome with fewer codons sets records

The biggest synthetic genome so far has been made, with a smaller set of amino-acid-encoding codons than usual — raising the prospect of encoding proteins that contain unnatural amino-acid residues.

Public Health is the Next Big Thing at UC San Diego

Researchers have swapped the genome of gut germ E. coli for an artificial one

By creating a new genome, scientists could create organisms tailored to produce desirable compounds

Genetically modified bacteria-killing viruses used on patient for first time

Hair claimed to belong to Leonardo da Vinci to undergo DNA testing

Critics, however, argue that this effort is flawed from the beginning

Students learn about genomics, a life in science, at J. Craig Venter Institute