Daniel S. Rokhsar, Ph.D, Chief Informatics Officer and Eukaryote Super Program Head, DOE Joint Genome Institute, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, Faculty Scientist, LBNL
Education
- AB in Physics, Princeton University, NJ
- MS in Theoretical Physics, Cornell University, NY
- PhD in Physics, Cornell University, NY
Summary
Daniel Rokhsar joined the DOE Joint Genome Institute as the founding Associate Director for Computational Genomics, and led the computational efforts directed towards the sequencing, annotation, and analysis of three human chromosomes. After successful completion of the human genome project, Professor Rokhsar’s group has continued to develop computational methods applicable to the diverse eukaryotic species, which they have applied and refined in the sequencing and evolutionary analysis of over two dozen plant and animal genomes. He currently leads the DOE Joint Genome Institute’s Eukaryotic Super Program.
Professor Rokhsar has been the faculty at the University of California-Berkeley since 1989, when he joined the Physics department. In 2002 he joined the genetics faculty after his research interests shifted to computational biology, genomics and evolution. He leads the Berkeley Training Program in Computational and Genomic Biology, now in its 11th year. Professor Rokhsar is also a scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division. He was the founding Department Head for Theoretical Biology at the Physical Biosciences Division in 1998, leading efforts to model protein dynamics and developmental systems.
Research Interests
Professor Rokhsar’s research is focused on understanding the origin, evolution, and diversity of plants and animals by combining computational genome analysis, sequence-based genetic methods, and comparative developmental biology. In addition to this evolutionary focus, his work on plant genomics is targeted towards the development of improved biofuel feedstocks and understanding and ultimately assisting the adaptation of plants to changing environments.
Awards and Service
2009 Friday Evening Lecturer, Marine Biological Laboratory;
2000 John Simon Guggenheim Fellow;
1995 Miller Research Professor, U.C. Berkeley;
1990-91 Sloan Foundation Fellow;
1991 NSF Presidential Young Investigator