Search
J. Craig Venter Institute Scientists to Investigate Role of Opioid Abuse in HIV and HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders Pathogenesis through $4.7M NIDA Grant
(La Jolla, California)—February 25, 2021—J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) scientists, led by Christine Cheng, Ph.D., have been awarded a $4.7 million, 5-year grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to study the effects of opioid abuse on the progression of HIV and its relationship to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). Dr. Cheng recently joined JCVI’s faculty as an associate professor. The grant was originally...
Influenza A Virus Discovered in Heart Muscle Tissue Causing Damage Long After It Has Cleared from the Lungs
(Rockville, Maryland)—January 27, 2021—Scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) have discovered that Influenza A virus (IAV) is found in heart tissue after it has been cleared from the lungs in mouse models. Live IAV present during convalescence does not actively replicate, preventing development of antiviral inflammatory responses, thus cloaking it from the immune system. Undetected, the virus continues to disrupt mitochondrial function, causing a metabolic breakdown and...
Hamilton O. Smith, M.D., Synthetic Biology Pioneer and Nobel Laureate, to Step Down from Daily Duties at J. Craig Venter Institute
(La Jolla, California)—December 22, 2020—Hamilton O. Smith, M.D., Nobel Laureate, distinguished professor and scientific director of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Synthetic Biology Group, is retiring from daily duties at the Institute effective December 31, 2020. Dr. Smith will continue advancing JCVI’s mission through authorship and an advisory role as a professor emeritus. Reflecting on this moment, J. Craig Venter, Ph.D. said, “It has been an honor of a lifetime to...
Scientists set a path for field trials of gene drive organisms
The modern rise of gene drive research, accelerated by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, has led to transformational waves rippling across science. Gene drive organisms (GDOs), developed with select traits that are genetically engineered to spread through a population, have the power to dramatically alter the way society develops solutions to a range of daunting health and environmental challenges, from controlling dengue fever and malaria to protecting crops against plant pests. But...
FR-Match: robust matching of cell type clusters from single cell RNA sequencing data using the Friedman-Rafsky non-parametric test.
Single cell/nucleus RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) is emerging as an essential tool to unravel the phenotypic heterogeneity of cells in complex biological systems. While computational methods for scRNAseq cell type clustering have advanced, the ability to integrate datasets to identify common and novel cell types across experiments remains a challenge. Here, we introduce a cluster-to-cluster cell type matching method-FR-Match-that utilizes supervised feature selection for dimensionality reduction...
Unique Antibody Pattern Discovered in COVID-19 ICU Patients May Be Key to Predicting Severe Outcomes
While news of promising COVID-19 vaccine trials is heartening, the fight to control infection rates and develop effective treatments will be an ongoing challenge for science for years to come. Gene Tan, PhD and his collaborators are working on identifying testing models and tools that will allow more labs to safely work on the disease, identifying varying inflammatory responses to the disease for more targeted testing and treatment plans, and identifying...
Study reveals mouth as primary source of COVID-19 infection, spread
(CHAPEL HILL, N.C.) A first-of-its-kind study shows the mouth is a robust site for infection and transmission of COVID-19, according to new research published Oct. 27 on the preprint server medRxiv. A team of researchers led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research reveals coronavirus can take hold in the salivary glands where it replicates, and in some cases, leads to prolonged disease when infected saliva is swallowed...
Dr. J. Craig Venter Awarded the 2020 Edogawa NICHE Prize
From the Edogawa NICHE Prize Steering Committee: "The Edogawa NICHE Prize for the year 2020 has been awarded to Dr. John Craig Venter for his contribution to research and development pertaining to the Human genome. This honor reflects Dr. Venter`s lifetime accomplishments in the power of the genomics and specifically in the identification of the human genome which has radically transformed healthcare." Read more about the prize and prize awardees.