George Weinstock

Dr. George Weinstock is the Evnin Family Professor and Director of Microbial Genomics at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine where he established a group devoted to genomic studies of infectious diseases and the human microbiome. The group collaborates extensively with clinicians to apply genomic analyses to a wide range of medical problems. The goal of the metagenomics projects is to determine the role of the microbiome in health and disease with the aim of providing both new mechanistic understanding as well as new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Dr. Weinstock’s group has played a leading role in the NIH Human Microbiome Project, both Phase 1 and 2, with both basic science and clinical studies, and his current research follows on those themes.

Dr. Weinstock has worked in genomics and microbiology for over 40 years. Previously, he was the co-director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston where he was one of the leaders of the Human Genome Project. He also directed a number of human and mammalian genetics projects aimed at determining genetic causes of conditions such as Retinitis Pigmentosa, Cleft Lip, susceptibility to infection, and the role of host genetics in control of the microbiome. He has also been an innovator in methods for microbial genetics, application of DNA sequencing in genomics, and software for genome analysis, as well as medical and agricultural applications of genomics. His research continues evolving with new issues in DNA sequencing technology.