Ocean Sampling Day 2018

J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) scientists, led by Lisa Ziegler Allen, PhD, are collaborating with Kelly Goodwin, PhD (NOAA), Brian Palenik, PhD (UCSD), and Maitreyi Nagarkar (UCSD) to participate in this year’s Ocean Sampling Day on June 21. The team, which also includes Sarah Schwenck...

J. Craig Venter Institute Education Program Fosters Learning Opportunities with Salisbury University Students and Faculty

Patti Erickson, PhD first connected with the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in the Fall of 2016 as an associate professor at Salisbury University looking for opportunities to expose undergraduate students to biology outside of the classroom. Soon thereafter, she and a group from Salisbury...

JCVI Makes Strides in Microbial Analysis of Artwork which May Lead to Better Preservation

Through the da Vinci DNA Project, researchers at JCVI began taking samples from aging artwork with the aim of understanding which microbial species are present are present on each.

BioVision Alexandria 2018

The BioVision Alexandria conference convened at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in Alexandria, Egypt this past April. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a commemoration of the Ancient Library of Alexandria and an attempt to rekindle the global cultural and scholarship role of the library....

J. Craig Venter Institute Inspires Kids on “Take Your Child to Work Day”

Last month when my kindergarten-aged daughter brought home a note from school to dress up as their future career choice, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from her that she aspired to be a scientist just like me. So, we dug through my clothes and found her an old lab coat and decorated the...

JCVI to Receive Grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to Define the Language of Human Cell Classification

Researchers at J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), led by Richard Scheuermann, PhD, director of JCVI’s La Jolla Campus, have been awarded a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative DAF, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation as part of the Human Cell Atlas project. JCVI will be...

J. Craig Venter Institute Teaches Students about Genomics at Annual High Tech Fair

In January, JCVI was one of more than 40 San Diego STEM-related organizations who participated in the Fleet Science Center’s annual High Tech Fair. This year more than 3,000 local middle and high-school students, their teachers, and families descended upon Balboa Park throughout the...

Dr. Scheuermann featured on the Illumina Genomics Podcast

In Episode 14 of the Illumina Genomics Podcast, Dr. Richard Scheuermann is the featured guest. Dr. Scheuermann discusses advancements in cell ontology, informatics, machine learning, and how his approach to biology has adapted over the years to incorporate the massive increases of data and...

New Method for Genome-wide Engineering of Viruses

Researchers at JCVI have been developing synthetic genomics assembly methods since 2000, addressing fundamental biological questions. Together, with researchers at Oregon Health and Science University, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Synthetic Genomics, Inc., and Vir Biotechnology,...

S. pneumoniae sticks to dying lung cells, worsening secondary infection following flu

Sailing the Seas in Search of Microbes

Projects aimed at collecting big data about the ocean’s tiniest life forms continue to expand our view of the seas.

What the Public Should Not Know

J. Craig Venter, PhD, argues scientists have “a moral obligation to communicate what they're doing to the public,” and that more studies deserve greater public criticism.

Scientists coax cells with the world’s smallest genomes to reproduce normally

The discovery could sharpen scientists’ understanding of which functions are crucial for normal cells and what the many mysterious genes in these organisms are doing

San Diego arts, health, science and youth groups to share $71M from Prebys Foundation

The J. Craig Venter Institute is the recipient of three awards totaling more than $1.5M to study SARS-CoV-2 and heart disease

Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of the First Publication of the Human Genome

A new wave of research is needed to make ample use of humanity’s “most wondrous map”

Scientists rush to determine if mutant strain of coronavirus will deepen pandemic

U.S. researchers have been slow to perform the genetic sequencing that will help clarify the situation

After saving countless lives, Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith retires as his own health falters

He has been a fixture in San Diego science for decades