The Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) is dedicated to transformative research and technology in life sciences. Team-based themes tackle grand societal challenges in food security, energy, health, technology, and environmental conservation. Its facilities include a microfabrication lab, plant growth facility, and a microscopy suite.

SHIELD Team workers assist students, staff and faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign take a saliva-based COVID-19 test that was developed at the U. of I. as a way to detect cases of COVID-19 early and prevent community spread. Unlike conventional nasal testing, saliva samples are collected non-invasively, without the need for healthcare workers and with minimal use of PPE.

Study tracks COVID-19 infection dynamics in adults

A team led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tracked the rise and fall of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva and nasal cavities of people newly infected with the virus. The study was the first to follow acute COVID-19 infections over time through repeated sampling and to compare...
Image of plants with graphics of molecular compounds overlayed.

Mining microbial genomes to discover natural products

The world around us contains many chemicals that are useful for medicines, crop protection, and animal health. These chemicals—known as natural products—have typically been discovered by sheer luck. Unsurprisingly, traditional techniques often find the same products, like antibiotics, repeatedly...
Headshot of PhD student Karen Chiu.

Study investigates the effects of DiNP on the colon

Phthalates are commonly used to make products—including artificial leather, footwear, plastic food packaging, and personal care products—more flexible or stable. In particular, di-isononyl phthalate is incorporated in vinyl clothing and construction materials. However, scientists do not completely...
Vials of drosophila with blue gradient.

Decoding the molecular clock that controls neurogenesis in visual center of Drosophila

The nervous system is made up of diverse cells that arise from progenitors in a specific time-dependent pattern. In a new study, published in Nature Communications, researchers have uncovered the molecular players involved and how the timing is controlled.
Researchers Hee Jung Chung and Jennifer Walters stand together for photo in Chung Lab.

MCB team identifies compound with potent antiseizure effects

Researchers studying epileptic seizures of the temporal lobe – the most common type of epilepsy – discovered a compound that reduces seizures in the hippocampus, a brain region where many such seizures originate. The compound, known as TC-2153, lessened the severity of seizures in mice. The...
Deborah Leckband smiles for camera while sitting at workspace in lab.

'Molecular Velcro' enables tissues to sense, react to mechanical force

The Velcro-like cellular proteins that hold cells and tissues together also perform critical functions when they experience increased tension. A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study observed that when tugged upon in a controlled manner, these proteins – called cadherins – communicate...
Picture of coral reef, comparing the chromatophore distribution, green, and the algal distribution, red, in O. faveolata using 3D two-photon laser scanning microscopy.

Quantum leaps in understanding how living corals survive

Coral reefs have thrived for millions of years in their shallow ocean water environments due to their unique partnerships with the algae that live in their tissues. Corals provide a safe haven and carbon dioxide while their algal symbionts provide them with food and oxygen produced from...
Illinois postdoctoral researcher Eung Chang Kim (seated left) and professor Hee Jung Chung (standing right) in Chung Lab.

Gene mutation leads to epileptic encephalopathy symptoms, neuron death in mice

Mice with a genetic mutation that’s been observed in patients with epileptic encephalopathy, a severe form of congenital epilepsy, exhibit not only the seizure, developmental and behavioral symptoms of the disorder, but also neural degeneration and inflammation in the brain, University of Illinois...
Members of the 2021 iGEM team pose atop a bright green sculpture outside IGB.

University of Illinois iGEM Team 2021 Brings Home Bronze Medal

CABBI and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) are sponsoring six undergraduate students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to take part in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition during Spring and Summer 2021. The annual iGEM Jamboree is...
Picture of an anemone fish swimming through a coral reef.

Chemical pollutants disrupt reproduction in anemonefish, study finds

Ocean pollution is unfortunately becoming more commonplace, raising concerns over the effect of chemicals that are leaching into the water. In a new study, researchers have discovered how these chemicals can affect the reproduction in common anemonefish Amphiprion ocellaris.