Leadership in Genomics

A breakthrough achievement: Assistant Professor Karen Miga co-led the consortium that finally sequenced the missing pieces of the human genome

UC Santa Cruz has a long history of pioneering advances in genomics research. The first working draft of a human genome sequence was assembled on our campus in 2000, which led to enormous leaps in our collective understanding of human biology and disease. In 2022, we co-led the effort to assemble the first truly complete sequence of a human genome—covering each chromosome from end to end with no gaps and unprecedented accuracy—and it is now available for the whole world to access through the UCSC Genome Browser

UC Santa Cruz researchers also invented the idea of nanopore sequencing, which aims to make DNA sequencing progressively faster and less expensive, and the campus continues to provide many of the computational tools that fuel genomics research and innovation.

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$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Karen Miga named 2023 Searle Scholar to study uncharted regions of the human genome
Karen Miga, assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz, has been named a 2023 Searle Scholar.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Comb jellies proven to be the sibling group to all other animals
New research proves comb jellies are a unique lineage or “sibling group” whose ancestors diverged before the common ancestor of all other animals.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Human pangenome reference will enable more complete and equitable understanding of genomic diversity
UC Santa Cruz scientists, along with a consortium of researchers, have released a draft of the first human pangenome—a new, usable reference for genomics that combines the genetic material of 47 individuals from different ancestral backgrounds to allow for a deeper, more accurate understanding of worldwide genomic diversity.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ UC Santa Cruz to lead data collection center for major federal project on genetic underpinnings of neurological conditions
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute will run the Data Coordination Center for the Scalable and Systematic Neurobiology of Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorder Risk Genes (SSPsyGene) Consortium.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Genome of famed sled dog Balto reveals genetic adaptations of working dogs
Still a good boy nearly 100 years after historic sled run, Balto has now helped scientists explore the genetics of working dogs and demonstrate the power of comparative genomics.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Biologist Beth Shapiro elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Beth Shapiro, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Naming system for transfer RNA fragments will increase research productivity, standardization
UC Santa Cruz Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Todd Lowe and his group created a new naming scheme for tRNA fragments aimed at standardizing research.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ New program advises UCSC Ph.D. students on their path to entrepreneurship and venture capital
Many student-led innovations never make it out of the lab. A new program at UC Santa Cruz aims to change that by mentoring Ph.D. students in the life sciences on alternative career pathways outside academia: entrepreneurship and venture capital.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Collaboration with NASA uses eDNA technology to monitor biodiversity
UCSC scientists collected environmental DNA samples in South Africa as part of the BioSCape project.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Researcher wins inaugural NHGRI award for DEIA Innovation in the Genomics Workforce
Ann McCartney received the National Human Genome Research Institute’s (NHGRI) inaugural Staff Award for DEIA Innovation in the Genomics Workforce.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Researchers produce first-ever toolkit for RNA sequencing analysis using a ‘pantranscriptome’
Researchers at UC Santa Cruz introduce the first-ever method for analyzing RNA sequencing data genome-wide using a “pantranscriptome.”
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ UCSC Genome Browser selected to first-ever Global Core Biodata Resource List
The UCSC Genome Browser is now part of the first list of Global Core Biodata Resources—a collection of 37 resources whose long-term funding and sustainability is critical to life science and biomedical research worldwide.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Long-standing genomic mystery about the origins of introns explained in new study
A new study led by scientists at UC Santa Cruz and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) points to introners, one of several proposed mechanisms for the creation of introns, as an explanation for the origins of most introns across species.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Braingeneers develop novel method to automate the growth of brain tissue organoids on a chip
A team of engineers and scientists at UC Santa Cruz has developed a new method for remote automation of the growth of cerebral organoids – miniature, three-dimensional models of brain tissue grown from stem cells.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Remote-controlled microscopes bring complex biology education to students worldwide
As detailed in new research, UC Santa Cruz researchers have developed a method for using remote-controlled, internet-connected microscopes to enable students anywhere in the world to participate in designing and carrying out biology experiments.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Biomolecular engineering professor wins American Cancer Society award to develop technology for cancer early detection
Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering Daniel Kim won a four-year, $792,000 Research Scholar award from the American Cancer Society to support his work in developing RNA liquid biopsy technology to diagnose cancer early on.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ UCSC engineer played crucial role in 2022 Nobel Prize-winning research
UC Santa Cruz Baskin School of Engineering Professor Richard (Ed) Green was a major contributor to the Neanderthal Genome Project , the leader of which, Svante Pääbo, received the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Karen Miga discusses the future of equitable genomics research with Clinton, Bono
UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Associate Director for Human Pangenomics at the UCSC Genomics Institute Karen Miga joined former President Bill Clinton, U2 lead singer Bono, and Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Ghebreyesus to talk about the greatest health challenges and opportunities the world is currently facing.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ Karen Miga to speak with former president and other visionaries at the Clinton Global Initiative Meeting
This Tuesday, September 20 at 1:30 PST, Karen Miga will speak during the conference’s closing plenary session, joining Bill Clinton, Lin Manuel Miranda, Dolores Huerta, and more.
$${_EscapeTool.xml(imgAlt)}$ New program will mentor and train students underrepresented in genomics research
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute will partner with California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus to mentor and provide genomics research experience for students from these two hispanic-serving institutions.

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Leadership in Genomics

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