Our biggest environmental challenges ultimately relate to microbes, so studying microbes in nature is important for understanding the health of our planet. Dr. James Tiedje is Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University. He joins me to discuss the use of genomics to better understand microbial functions in their environment.

2018 was an awesome year for genomics and genomics research. In this special compilation episode, I’ll share some of our 2018 podcast highlights and future predictions for genomics – where we were in 2018, and where we’re going in 2019 and beyond.

Dr. Tõnu Esko is Deputy Director of Research at the Estonian Biobank of the University of Tartu. He joins me to talk about the Estonian Biobank and to explain how Estonia aims to create a national system to enable precision healthcare through genomic profiling.

Dr. Joshua Weiner is Professor of Biology at the University of Iowa and Associate Director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute. His lab uses a wide range of molecular and cell biology techniques to study the brain. Josh is a cell biologist by training, but he joins me to share his experiences on recently incorporating next-generation sequencing, or NGS, to complement his cell biology work.

The CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system is enabling scientists to make specific DNA changes in the genomes of plants and animals and has the potential to greatly impact our world. Dr. Sam Sternberg, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University, joins me to discuss the biology and impact of CRISPR and genome editing.

In noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), a maternal blood sample provides maternal DNA as well as DNA from the pregnancy to screen prenatal chromosomal abnormalities using next-generation sequencing, or NGS. Dr. Ronald J. Wapner, Vice Chair of Research in Obstetrics and Gynecology for Columbia University, joins me to share his perspective on prenatal screening and NIPT.

Long-term memories can last from minutes to a lifetime, and they are associated with changes in synaptic activity and formation of neuronal circuits in the brain. Dr. Ted Abel is Professor at the University of Iowa and Director of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute. Ted joins me to discuss the transcriptional and epigenetic changes that are also associated with long-term memory.

Sequencing a human genome requires 300 billion bases of DNA sequence, all of which need to be assembled – like a giant genomic jigsaw puzzle. Dr. Aleksey Zimin is Associate Research Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, and he joins me to discuss whole genome sequencing and assembly. He also discusses a novel method for creating phased genome assemblies.

Hereditary deafness is a relatively common disorder that affects about 1 in 1000 newborns. Dr. Richard J. Smith is Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Iowa, and he joins me to discuss the genetic basis of deafness. He also discusses the development of genomic tools to aid in genetic testing of heritable forms of hearing loss.

Autism is a complex psychiatric disorder that affects 1 in 59 children in the United States. Dr. Jacob Michaelson is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa and uses genomic and computational techniques to study autism and other psychiatric disorders. He joins me to discuss the genetics of autism and (sparkforautism.org).