DOE Joint Genome Institute

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    A vertical tree stump outdoors with about a dozen shiitake mushrooms sprouting from its surface.
    Tracing the Evolution of Shiitake Mushrooms
    Understanding Lentinula genomes and their evolution could provide strategies for converting plant waste into sugars for biofuel production. Additionally, these fungi play a role in the global carbon cycle.

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    Soil Virus Offers Insight into Maintaining Microorganisms
    Through a collaborative effort, researchers have identified a protein in soil viruses that may promote soil health.

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    Data yielded from RIViT-seq increased the number of sigma factor-gene pairs confirmed in Streptomyces coelicolor from 209 to 399. Here, grey arrows denote previously known regulation and red arrows are regulation identified by RIViT-seq; orange nodes mark sigma factors while gray nodes mark other genes. (Otani, H., Mouncey, N.J. Nat Commun 13, 3502 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31191-w)
    Streamlining Regulon Identification in Bacteria
    Regulons are a group of genes that can be turned on or off by the same regulatory protein. RIViT-seq technology could speed up associating transcription factors with their target genes.

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    The switchgrass diversity panel growing at the Kellogg Biological Station in Michigan. (David Lowry)
    Mapping Switchgrass Traits with Common Gardens
    The combination of field data and genetic information has allowed researchers to associate climate adaptations with switchgrass biology.

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    Artist rendering of genome standards being applied to deciphering the extensive diversity of viruses. (Illustration by Leah Pantea)
    Expanding Metagenomics to Capture Viral Diversity
    Along with highlighting the viruses in a given sample, metagenomics shed light on another key aspect of viruses in the environment — their sheer genetic diversity.

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    Photograph of a stream of diatoms beneath Arctic sea ice.
    Polar Phytoplankton Need Zinc to Cope with the Cold
    As part of a long-term collaboration with the JGI Algal Program, researchers studying function and activity of phytoplankton genes in polar waters have found that these algae rely on dissolved zinc to photosynthesize.

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    Abstract image of gold lights and squares against a black backdrop
    Silver Age of GOLD Introduces New Features
    The Genomes OnLine Database makes curated microbiome metadata that follows community standards freely available and enables large-scale comparative genomics analysis initiatives.

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    Graphical overview of the RNA Virus MetaTranscriptomes Project. (Courtesy of Simon Roux)
    A Better Way to Find RNA Virus Needles in the Proverbial Database Haystacks
    Researchers combed through more than 5,000 data sets of RNA sequences generated from diverse environmental samples around the world, resulting in a five-fold increase of RNA virus diversity.

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    HPCwire Editor's Choice Award (logo crop) for Best Use of HPC in the Life Sciences
    JGI Part of Berkeley Lab Team Awarded Best Use of HPC in Life Sciences
    The HPCwire Editors Choice Award for Best Use of HPC in Life Sciences went to the Berkeley Lab team comprised of JGI and ExaBiome Project team, supported by the DOE Exascale Computing Project for MetaHipMer, an end-to-end genome assembler that supports “an unprecedented assembly of environmental microbiomes.”

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    Digital ID card with six headshots reads: Congratulations to our 2022 Function Genomics recipients!
    Final Round of 2022 CSP Functional Genomics Awardees
    Meet the final six researchers whose proposals were selected for the 2022 Community Science Program Functional Genomics call.

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    CSP New Investigators FY23 R1
    JGI Announces First Round of 2023 New Investigator Awardees
    Twice each year we look for novel research projects aligned with DOE missions and from PIs who have not led any previously-accepted proposals through the CSP New Investigator call.

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    screencap from Amundson and Wilkins subsurface microbiome video
    Digging into Microbial Ecosystems Deep Underground
    JGI users and microbiome researchers at Colorado State University have many questions about the microbial communities deep underground, including the role viral infection may play in other natural ecosystems.

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    2022 JGI-UC Merced interns (Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab)
    Exploring Possibilities: 2022 JGI-UC Merced Interns
    The 2022 UC Merced intern cohort share how their summer internship experiences have influenced their careers in science.

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    Using Team Science to Build Communities Around Data
    As the data portals grow and evolve, the research communities further expand around them. But with two projects, communities are forming to generate high quality genomes to benefit researchers.

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    Cow Rumen and the Early Days of Metagenomics
    Tracing a cow rumen dataset from the lab to material for a hands-on undergraduate research course at CSU-San Marcos that has since expanded into three other universities.

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About Us
Home › About Us › People › The JGI Leadership Team
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The JGI Leadership Team

This group is responsible for institutional strategic planning, talent management, and convening of advisory committees to guide the direction of programs and initatives to enhance the JGI’s preeminence as a national resource. Members report to the JGI Director.

  • Nigel Mouncey, Director

    Nigel Mouncey

    Dr. Mouncey joined the DOE Joint Genome Institute in 2017 as the fourth Director in its 20-year history. After stints as a senior research scientist in molecular biology at Roche Vitamins, Inc. in New Jersey and DSM Nutritional Products in Switzerland, he joined Dow AgroSciences in Indianapolis in 2008 and served as Bioengineering and Bioprocessing R&D Director and Leader from 2011 onward.

  • Massie Ballon, Communications & Outreach Manager

    Massie Ballon

    Massie S. Ballon is the Communications and Outreach Manager at the JGI. Since 2009, she has served as the primary storyteller for the JGI, producing both text-based and multimedia stories.

  • Tina Clarke, Human Resources Division Partner

    Tina Clarke

    Ms. Clarke is a Senior Human Resources (HR) Division Partner who began her HR journey after obtaining her BA degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University. Early on Tina knew the importance of understanding human and group behaviors as her role in HR evolved with more exposure in employee relations matters and coaching supervisors and managers.

  • Nick Everson, Deputy of Operations

    Nick Everson

    Mr. Everson oversees the JGI Operations Department, which includes Procurement, Human Resources, Facilities, Safety, Lab Automation and Administration groups. He has 20 years of financial and operations management experience including with the U.S. Navy and Intel Corporation.

  • Kjiersten Fagnan, Chief Informatics Officer

    Kjiersten Fagnan

    Dr. Fagnan joined the JGI in 2012 after completing a petascale postdoctoral fellowship at the DOE National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and the Computational Research Division at Berkeley Lab. In April 2016 she became the JGI’s Chief Informatics Officer. She also leads the JGI Data Science & Informatics Department.

  • Len Pennacchio, Deputy of Genomic Technologies

    Len Pennacchio

    Dr. Pennacchio joined the JGI in 2003 and has focused on applying state-of-the-art molecular methods to address wide-ranging questions existing in biology. He holds a dual appointment as a Division Deputy at the DOE Joint Genome Institute and a Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

  • Susannah Tringe, Director, Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division

    Susannah Tringe

    Dr. Tringe heads the JGI Microbial Systems Group, whose work focuses on sequence-based approaches to studying microbial community assembly, function, and dynamics. Dr. Tringe is also serving as Director of the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division within the Biosciences Area.

  • Axel Visel, Deputy for Science Programs

    Axel Visel

    Dr. Visel joined JGI in 2010 and serves as the Deputy for Science Programs, overseeing the Eukaryote, Prokaryote, and Integrative Genomics Programs. Additionally, he leads the development and implementation of strategic initiatives for JGI.

  • Tanja Woyke, Deputy of User Programs

    Dr. Woyke serves as JGI’s Deputy of User Programs, overseeing programs including the Community Science Program. She has been the JGI Microbial Program head since 2009.

  • The JGI Leadership Team
    • Nigel Mouncey
    • Massie S. Ballon
    • Tina Clarke
    • Nick Everson
    • Kjiersten Fagnan
    • Len Pennacchio
    • Axel Visel
    • Tanja Woyke

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