معرفی
Eugene Koonin is a Senior Investigator at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), National Library of Medicine (NLM), NIH, and holds adjunct professorships at Georgia Institute of Technology, Boston University, and the University of Haifa. A leading figure in evolutionary biology and computational genomics, he has made foundational contributions to comparative genomics, virus evolution, and the analysis of horizontal gene transfer.
Education:
- BS in Biochemistry, Moscow State University (1978)
- PhD in Molecular Biology, Moscow State University (1983)
Research Interests: His work spans evolutionary genomics, virus-host coevolution, discovery of novel viruses through metagenomics, and the evolutionary regimes of human cancers. He pioneered the Clusters of Orthologous Genes (COG) system and investigates thermodynamic principles underlying evolution.
Publications: His recent work includes groundbreaking studies on gut viromes, RNA virus diversity, anti-CRISPR protein discovery, and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. These publications reflect his integrative approach to computational biology.
Scientific Awards:
- NIH Distinguished Investigator (2019)
- Benjamin Franklin Prize for Open Access (2019)
- Doctor Honoris Causa, Wageningen University (2018)
- Georgy Gamow Prize (2018)
- Member, National Academy of Sciences (2016)
- Israel Pollak Lecture Award (2011)
Leadership & Collaborations: He has chaired major conferences (e.g., Gordon Research Conference on Genomics) and served as Editor-in-Chief of Biology Direct and Associate Editor of Genome Biology and Evolution. His lab at NCBI includes researchers like Kira Makarova and Yuri Wolf.
