Gene Robinson, a professor at the Univeristy of Illinois, has been named director of the UI’s Institute for Genomic Biology, pending approval by trustees next week. Dr. Robinson has headed the institute on an interim basis since March 2011 and before that was leader of its research group on the genomics of neural and behavioral plasticity.
“Genomics is at a very exciting point in time. We’re about to start what I call the second genomic revolution, where genomics is going to permeate and really transform biology. We are going, within five to 10 years, to have the genomic sequences of thousands of different species, of microorganisms, plants and animals, and also thousands of genomic sequences of individuals within some species,” Robinson said.