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Almost every person has thought about the mystery of life and evolution at least once, but they may not have pondered the recent impact of using computer science and machine learning to unravel the greatest mysteries of genetics and species evolution on our endearing Mother Earth. The J. Craig Venter Institute, commonly known as JCVI, is trying to develop novel computational and statistical tools to make effective biological meaning of the large amounts of data generated by high throughput technologies. Its team of scientists focuses on human genomic medicine, infectious diseases, analysis of plant and microbial genomes, along with bioinformatics—genome sequencing is one of JCVI’s main thrust areas.

With more than 250,000 square feet
of laboratory and research space and
housing more than 300 of the topmost
minds to carry out cutting edge research
in genomics, JCVI is one of the world
leaders in genomic research. Presently
JCVI houses five research groups: Ge-
nomic Medicine, Infectious Disease,
Microbial & Environmental Genomics,
Plant Genomics, and Synthetic Biology
& Bioenergy. The Informatics team and
the Sequencing team make up JCVI’s
technology platform. There is also a
Policy Center, to address social and
ethical issues, and an Education group
to promote educational programs and
internships. Formed in 2006, with loca-
tions in Rockville, MD and San Diego,
CA, the institute has risen up in ranks
over the years.

Although Dr. Craig Venter and his research team were using advanced computational tools to sequence the DNA of around 50 microbial genomes, their work did not come to public attention until 2001, when they successfully helped in the Human Genome Project. Over the past few years, researchers at JCVI have published the first diploid human genome and have uncovered more than 60 million genes from organisms found in the sea.

JVCI’s genomic research projects would be impossible without computer science. The institute has a large department dedicated to informatics, consisting of a group of software engineers, scientists, and research experts in bioinformatics. Using the institute’s state-of-the-art computing infrastructure, which includes three terabytes of efficiently distributed RAM and a significant storage capacity of half a petabyte, the informatics team has created internationally renowned databases and tools to study the genomes of plants, microbes, and mammals. The DNA sequencing technologies employed at JCVI include the llumina HiSeq 2000, Illumina GAIIx, 454 FLX+, 454 GS FLX, ABI 3730xl, AB SOLiD V3, AB SOLiD V4, and Life Tech Ion Torrent sequencers. The informatics group maintains JCVI’s sequencing technology and all the sequencing data using a sophisticated system that includes, but is not limited to, a Laboratory Information Management System and