From September 18-22, 2017, we introduce you to 5 postdocs at the JGI in honor of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, which recognizes the contributions of these early career researchers. Through a series of hard-hitting questions, we find out what drives each one.
Adam Session, a postdoc with Dan Rokhsar, Eukaryote Super Program Head, did his dissertation on the genome evolution of the frog Xenopus laevis – a legacy project of the JGI. He was first author on a 2016 Nature paper about that topic, which made the journal cover.
What do you work on? I work in the Eukaryote Super Program Genome Assembly R&D group (a non-descriptive mouthful, I’m afraid). More specifically, my research focuses on annotating polyploid genomes –which contain more than 2 pairs of chromosomes – as well as studying their evolutionary history in order to understand the mechanisms by which polyploids can form and any asymmetric evolution that may have occurred since genome doubling. Luckily for me, many of the biofuel crops JGI is working on – such as switchgrass, miscanthus and Brachypodium – fall into this category.
When did you join JGI? June 2015
Where did you join us from? UC Berkeley
What drives your passion outside of JGI? I also work as Chief Scientist of a cricket farming company, researching ways to improve them for human consumption. I like that my science work at JGI and outside satisfies my curiosities while providing resources that help humanity with climate change.
What song do you have on constant repeat? “Often” – The Weeknd
What’s your favorite dessert? Lemon-lime cupcakes by me
What could the letters JGI stand for other than “Joint Genome Institute”? Jolly Good I?
What do you appreciate most about JGI? Exchanging ideas with great scientists