Len Pennacchio, Deputy of Genomic Technologies, DOE Joint Genome Institute
In 2003, Dr. Pennacchio joined the DOE Joint Genome Institute and has focused on applying state-of-the-art molecular methods to address wide-ranging questions existing in biology. He holds joint appointments as a Deputy Director at the DOE Joint Genome Institute, Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley. Dr. Pennacchio received his Ph.D in 1998 from the Department of Genetics at Stanford University where he uncovered the genetic cause of a rare form of human epilepsy and subsequently generated one of the first mouse models for this common neurological disorder. In 1999, he was named a DOE Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Fellow where he identified a novel apolipoprotein (ApoA5) involved in human and mouse triglyceride metabolism. He is funded by DOE and through continued competitive grant support from NIH.
Education
- BA in Biology, Sonoma State University
- PhD in Genetics, Stanford University
- DOE Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
About the Deputy of Genomic Technologies
The Deputy of Genomic Technologies serves as the JGI’s primary point of contact for all High-Throughput Data Generation Platforms (Sequencing, Single Cell, DNA Synthesis, and Metabolomics) as well as Research & Development in all of these areas. Additional duties of this Deputy include interacting with users seeking to exploit new genomic technologies and providing a vision for future technical JGI directions for DOE User science.
Service, Awards, and Honors
- 2021- NLM Board of Regents Working Group on “NIH Comparative Genomics Resource”
- 2021- Co-Chair, “Advances in Genome Biology & Technology- Agriculture”
- 2021- Weill Neurohub Investigator
- 2020 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- 2020- National Advisory Council, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH
- 2019 Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Director’s Award for Exceptional Scientific Achievement
- 2017- Adjunct Professor UC-Berkeley
- 2015- Co-Chair, “Advances in Genome Biology & Technology-Precision Health”
- 2013- Instructor Leena Peltonen School of Human Genomics, Sanger Center
- 2011- Co-Organizer “Systems Biology of Gene Regulation and Genome Editing,” Cold Spring Harbor Asia
- 2011- Board of Directors, The Genome Partnership
- 2008- Co-Chair, “Advances in Genome Biology & Technology (AGBT)”
Current research interests and ongoing projects
- Defining the vast landscape of gene regulatory sequences in the human genome.
- Understanding how variation in regulatory sequences influences human disease/biology.
- Assessing and exploiting next generation sequencing technologies for applications in both the energy and health sectors.
- Mammalian Functional Genomics Lab
- VISTA Enhancers
- VISTA Cardiac Enhancer Browser
- ENCODE
- FaceBase