Daniel Janies

Daniel Janies is the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he joined in 2012. He also serves as Co-director for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER). His affiliations span multiple colleges at UNC Charlotte, including the College of Computing and Informatics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and College of Engineering. Previously, he was a tenured faculty member at Ohio State University’s College of Medicine.

• Bachelor of Science in Biology, University of Michigan (1988)
• Ph.D. in Zoology, University of Florida (1995)

Research Interests: Dr. Janies pioneered the field of mapping pathogen genetic data with geography and host animals. His lab develops bioinformatics tools and databases for genomics, phylogenetics, and infectious disease tracking, including projects like the Biosurveillance Ecosystem for DTRA, EchinoDB for echinoderm genomics, and geospatial phylogenetic software. His work addresses emergent viruses, antibiotic resistance, food safety, and ecosystem health through computational and empirical approaches.

Leadership and Collaborations: As Co-director of CIPHER, Dr. Janies coalesces expertise across computer science, bioinformatics, public health, and data science. The center partners with domestic and international institutions in academia, medicine, industry, and government. He has advised the Obama White House, the Pentagon, and testified before Congress on pandemic preparedness and pathogen spread.