Executive Director and CEO

Gene E. Robinson holds a University Swanlund Chair in Entomology and a Center for Advanced Study Professorship, and since 2012 has served as director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), an interdisciplinary team science institute whose mission is to use genomics to address grand challenges in science and society.  Under his leadership, it became one of the most well-known genomics institutes in the country, with a comprehensive research portfolio that spans agriculture, energy, health, and technology. Annual grant income doubled and total grant funding increased over 500% to $770M. In addition, the IGB created external research partnerships with a diverse set of major companies, a thriving program to support entrepreneurship and innovation, novel partnerships with several colleges on campus, and an award-winning program in outreach and public engagement to help different segments of the public connect with and understand genomics and its impact on science, agriculture, medicine, and society. Together with Susan Martinis and Rashid Bashir, Robinson lead the campus effort to partner with the University of Chicago and Northwestern University to win the national competition for the nation’s second Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.