IGB Fellows Program
The Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) has initiated a program of fellowships for recent Ph.D.s or students in their final year of predoctoral study in any of the research areas encompassed by the Institute. The Program provides an opportunity for young scientists to spend several years doing independent research before launching formal academic or industrial careers. The program is advertised in major scientific publications and the fellows are selected on the basis of their professional promise, capacity for independent work, interdisciplinary interests, and outstanding achievement to date.
If you are interested in becoming an IGB Fellow, send a letter of interest to info-igb@uiuc.edu.
Institute for Genomic Biology Fellows
Gwendolyn Ball
Gwendolyn Ball has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois and has studied at Cornell and MIT. Her research focuses on how firms are influenced by economic institutions, in particular the relationship between the intellectual property regimes and innovation. She joined the Institute in June of 2007 and will be working with the Business, Economics and Law Theme. Previously, she worked as a researcher at the College of Law at the University of Illinois and has been a consultant for various international agencies including U.S. AID and the World Bank.
Benjamin M. Griffin
Ben Griffin received his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology and Microbiology from Michigan State University in 2003. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biology at the Universitat Konstanz. He joined the Institute for Genomic Biology in November 2005 and works closely with members of the Mining Microbial Genomes for Novel Antibiotics Research Theme.
Tor W. Jensen
Tor Jensen received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University in 2004. He was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois, where he developed variable elastic modulus substrates for use in neural cell growth and differentiation. He joined the Institute for Genomic Biology in December 2005, and works closely with members of the Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering Research Theme.
Sarah E. London
Sarah London received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2005. As an IGB Fellow, she will focus on expression of an immediate early gene, zenk, in juvenile songbirds during the critical period for song learning to better understand the function of zenk in the process of song acquisition. She will be working closely with members of the Genomics of Neural and Behavioral Plasticity Research Theme.
David Nelson
David Nelson received his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005. As an IGB Fellow, he will be working with members of the Biocomplexity Research Theme on the integration of modern day genomics with microbial systematics, evolution and ecology, to explore the many levels of biological organization that sustain freshwater systems. He and others in the theme will apply community genomics or metagenomics, a state-of-the-art approach, that will allow them to test key hypotheses about the diversity, biogeography, and function of freshwater microbial communities across space and time.
Zhen Shi
Zhen Shi received her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences from the University of South Florida in 2005. She joined the Institute for Genomic Biology in January 2006 and works closely with the members of the Molecular Bioengineering of Biomass Coversion Research Theme.
Jindong Sun
Jindong Sun received his PhD in Plant Biology from the University of Wyoming. Previously he worked as a senior research scientist at Monsanto. He joined the Institute for Genomic Biology in July 2007 and works closely with the members of the Genomic Ecology of Global Change Research Theme to explore the effects and interactions of the environmental factors and stresses on crop productivity and photosynthesis.
