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where science meets society

Where Science Meets Society

Learn More About IGB

Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

The Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) is an innovative research institute using cutting-edge genomic practices to tackle large-scale global challenges currently facing humanity.

Food security for a growing population. Effective therapeutic drugs and antibiotics. Automated synthesis of new molecules and proteins. Using a team-based, collaborative science approach, researchers at the IGB are addressing these and other complex issues. Our main areas of research below are each supported by our strong commitment to fundamental science – the pursuit of discovery.

Health & Wellness

Health +
Wellness

How the genome enhances, affects, or disrupts physical and mental wellbeing.

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Technology & Socety

Tech +
Society

Advancing our capability to shape the world and capacity to understand each other.

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Agriculture & Energy

Ag +
Energy

Sustainably feeding and fueling a planet impacted by a changing global climate.

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Outreach & Public Engagement

Outreach &
Public Engagement

Encouraging the public to understand how genomics affects daily life and society.

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IGB Fellows Symposium May 8th, 2025

Spotlight

Register for the May 8th IGB Fellows Symposium

Register Here

Featured Stories

Karn and Laukaitis show that rather than being uniquely mammalian, secretoglobins are also found in turtles, crocodilians, lizards and birds, suggesting they existed in the Carboniferous period. / Bob Karn
Kaitlyn Sommer (left) and Ryan Dilger (right)
Research leader D.K. Lee
The four new members are, from left: Paul Braun, Antoinette Burton, Aida El-Khadra and Jonathan Sweedler. Photos courtesy University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Andrew Leakey and his colleagues developed an AI tool that uses minimal training to teach itself to distinguish the flowers of thousands of varieties of Miscanthus, a plant used in biofuels production. Photo by Craig Pessman
 Hua Wang Assistant Professor, Materials Science & Engineering