Brett McKinney

Brett McKinney is a Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Tulsa's Tandy School of Computer Science and a key member of the HHMI Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) program. He directs the In Silico Lab (http://insilico.utulsa.edu/), which develops critical bioinformatics infrastructure for undergraduate phage research nationwide.

His research focuses on Bioinformatics and Genomics with specialized applications in Phage Genomics and Evolutionary Science. The In Silico Lab creates essential educational resources including the Phage Discovery Guide, Bioinformatics Guide, and Phage Genomics Guide, enabling computational analysis of bacteriophage genomes through platforms like the Genome Exchange and PhagesDB integration.

Professor McKinney actively shapes the SEA-PHAGES community through event organization including the annual Phage Genomics Workshop and SEA Symposium. His lab maintains foundational tools for genome annotation, SRA submissions, and collaborative research frameworks that support hundreds of institutions in authentic undergraduate research experiences.