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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

Bioengineering professor Shannon Sirk
A research team led by food science and human nutrition professor Yong-Su Jin combined the special attributes of E. coli with the photosynthetic capabilities of microalgae to take in carbon dioxide and convert it to useful biological chemicals. Photo by Craig Pessman
Thomas R. Cech, PhD, Nobel Laureate and Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, University of Colorado Boulder will give the  IGB Distinguished Public Lecture in Genomics "The Magic of RNA: New Medicines, Immortality, and the Power to Control Evolution"
Illinois professors Isaac Cann, left, Stephan Link and Matthew Wheeler were elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Soybean field trials took place for three years to observe developmental stages of different varieties. / Danny Gotarkar
Illinois pathobiology professor Csaba Varga and his colleagues tracked antibiotic-resistant infections with Campylobacter jejuni, a primary cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. The study found regional and age-related differences, and an upward trend in resistance to a class of antibiotics known as quinolones. Photo by Craig Pessman