George Weinstock, Ph.D.,  The Genome Institute

Dr. Weinstock applies high-throughput DNA sequencing, genome-wide analysis, bioinformatics, and other genetic methods to the study of human, model organisms and microbial genomes. His goal is to employ genetic and genomic thinking to important problems in biology. He led one of the first bacterial genome projects, sequencing Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis. He is now a leader of the Human Microbiome Project, studying the collection of microbes that colonize the human body. The goal of this work is to analyze the genomes of these organisms, characterize the communities they form, and measure how communities change in different health and disease states. He was one of the leaders of the Human Genome Project and also the first personal genome project, sequencing Dr. James Watson’s genome using next-generation sequencing technology. He is now leading projects using next-generation sequencing to discover mutations causing human disease.

Currently Professor of Genetics and Professor of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University, Dr. Weinstock was previously Co-Director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX and Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics there. Dr. Weinstock received his B.S. degree from the University of Michigan (Biophysics, 1970) and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Microbiology, 1977).

Publications