Picture from left to right: (top) Hal Alper, Jennifer Bridwell-Rabb, Alan Culbertson, Steven Hallam, and Scott Miller; (bottom) Lauren Rajakovich, Kathleen Scott, Catalin Voiniciuc and Philipp Zerbe
Each year, the JGI accepts proposals for state-of-the-art functional genomics research from reseachers who translate genomic information into biological function. Through our CSP Functional Genomics call, we look for projects that will leverage the JGI’s DNA synthesis and omics capabilities to enhance understanding of gene and genome function. Tapping into these functions allows researchers to use them for engineering applications in support of advancing the bioeconomy.
This year’s project goals range from improving crop productivity for bioenergy through enhanced red-light energy capture, enhancing atmospheric carbon sequestration into sustainable biomaterials, and developing high-throughput methods to reveal metabolic pathways that could ultimately enable new or more efficient biotechnologies.
Below find a list of the nine researchers accepted for 2024. Proposals are accepted year-round; the next deadline is Jan. 30, 2025.
| Name | Affiliation | Proposal Title |
| Alper, Hal | University of Texas at Austin | Elucidation of novel plastizymes via a protein library based on a multi-omic statistical learning approach |
| Bridwell-Rabb, Jennifer | University of Michigan | Illuminating the structure-function relationships in Chlorophyll metabolic enzymes |
| Culbertson, Alan | Iowa State University | Determination of physiological substrate of Sorghum ABC Transporters for improved bioenergy crops |
| Hallam, Steven | University of British Columbia | Developing a high-throughput functional screening surface display platform for strategic metal recovery from environmental transcriptomes |
| Miller, Scott | University of Montana | Identification of the Chlorophyll d synthase: Implications for far-red light photosynthesis by crops |
| Rajakovich, Lauren | University of Washington | Family-wide functional annotation of transcriptional regulator proteins for the discovery of microbial catabolic pathways |
| Scott, Kathleen | University of South Florida | Distribution of bicarbonate uptake ability among the ubiquitous and diverse SulP family transporters |
| Voiniciuc, Cătălin | University of Florida | Rapid prototyping of plant hemicellulose biosynthesis in yeast |
| Zerbe, Philipp | University of California, Davis | Functional characterization of terpenoid-biosynthetic networks in switchgrass, millet, maize and poplar toward bioenergy and bioproduct engineering |