The Department of Genome Sciences is committed to creating an environment that is welcoming and inclusive. Our goal is to foster a place of learning and working where all members can thrive and where diversity is recognized and celebrated. At Genome Sciences, we aim to create supportive spaces for those who are marginalized in higher education or society. To achieve this, we recognize that it is our ongoing responsibility to understand, acknowledge, and challenge systems of privilege and disadvantage in higher education such as those based on race, color, creed, caste, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, or socioeconomic status.

Faculty Position Available

The Department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington invites applications for a full-time faculty position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor, with tenure.

The Northwest Genomics Center (NWGC), which is based in UW Genome Sciences, is the largest self-sustaining sequencing center in the Pacific Northwest, with ongoing contributions to large-scale NIH funded projects including the All of Us Research Program, the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program, and the Genomics Research to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare diseases (GREGoR) Consortium. The successful candidate will be expected to serve as the Scientific Director of the NWGC, a role that may include serving as a principal investigator in the aforementioned programs, as well as continuing the center’s tradition of staying at the leading edge of genomic technologies and the application of genomic knowledge to understanding and treating human genetic disease. Please see the application announcement for more information.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, December 7
Combi Seminar: Dr. Daniela Witten | University of Washington
"Single-cell RNA-sequencing data analysis without double-dipping"
1:30 | Foege Auditorium | remote viewing option | flier | talk will be recorded

New Faculty

Genome Sciences is pleased to announce that Dr. Lea Starita has accepted our offer to be an assistant professor. Dr. Starita develops and applies advanced genomic technologies for interpreting genetic variants of unknown significance. She also serves as the co-director of The Brotman Baty Institute's Advanced Technology Lab and is a key member of the Seattle Flu Study.

Genome Sciences is pleased to announce that Dr. Philip Abitua has accepted our offer to be an assistant professor. Dr. Abitua is a developmental biologist studying annual killifish and how they've evolved to survive in extreme environments. In addition to deep knowledge of early vertebrate development, Dr. Abitua will bring cutting edge techniques into the department, such as single-cell analysis with live imaging of whole embryos.

Genome Sciences is pleased to announce that Dr. Alison Feder has accepted our offer to be an assistant professor and has joined our department. Dr. Feder was a Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a mathematical biologist who studies evolutionary forces that drive rapid adaptation, such as that seen in viruses becoming resistant to drugs.

Genome Sciences is pleased to announce that Dr. Devin Schweppe has accepted our offer to be an assistant professor and has joined our department. Dr. Schweppe comes to Genome Sciences from the lab of Dr. Steven Gygi at Harvard Medical School, where he was a postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Schweppe develops proteomics methods to analyze dynamic cellular signaling networks.

Department News

David Baker, Jay Shendure, Cole Trapnell, Riza Daza, Bill Noble, Evan Eichler, and Debbie Nickerson have been named to the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers list from Clarivate.
Dr. Alison Feder and Dr. Gavin Ha have received NIH New Innovator Awards.
Dr. Jay Shendure has been named the 2022 UW Medicine Inventor of the Year.
Dr. Mary-Claire King has been named a Citation Laureate by Clarivate.
Syd Sattler has been awarded the Bonita and David Brewer Fellowship.

Maddy Duran and Anupama Jha have been awarded the Parker Travel Award for best poster at the 2022 department retreat.


Shawn Fayer has received the ASHG Cotterman Award.
Dunham Lab undergraduates Annamarie Steed and Naomi Moresi have been awarded travel awards from the Genetics Society of America. Naomi Moresi has been awarded the first place undergraduate poster at the GSA Yeast Genetics Meeting.
Dr. Glennis Logsdon has been awarded a K99/R00: Pathway to Independence Award.
Berg Lab undergraduate researcher Haley Parrett has been named one of UW Chemistry's Top Scholars.

Dr. Evan Eichler named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2022.

Dr. Jay Shendure has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Elena Romero has received the award for best graduate student poster at PEQG 2022.




Introducing the Genome Sciences 2022 incoming class:

Sahar Attar - King's College London, University of Washington
Erik Bergstrom - University of Virginia
Caleb Carr - UW MSTP
Connor Finkbeiner - Whitman College
Sophia Gibson - Bryn Mawr College
Stephen Gonzalez - UC San Diego
Iris Jia - University of Washington, UC San Diego
Conor Kelly - University of Colorado
Caroline Kikawa - UW MSTP
Joseph Min - Johns Hopkins University
Jenny Nathans - UW MSTP
Monika Perez - University of Tulsa
Clifford Rostomily - University of Washington
Bo Wen - Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Qi Yu - Brandeis University

Dr. Steven Henikoff & Dr. Harmit Malik named to AAAS.

Scientists set out to map the world’s genomic diversity
UW Medicine Newsroom




Hanna Liao has been awarded an NSF fellowship. Lincoln Harris and Chris Hsu have received honorable mention.

Dr. Alison Feder has been selected as an award recipient for the Gilead Research Scholars program in HIV.

More News