Greg Caporaso, director of the Center for Applied Microbiome Science, part of the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI) at Northern Arizona University, has been awarded a $3.75 million grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to build software capable of analyzing and archiving data focused on the interplay between the human… Read more
Greg Caporaso
NAU’s Keim leads Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union to publish findings of study tracking strains of SARS-CoV-2 in state
Initial findings reported by the Arizona COVID-19 Genomics Union (ACGU) suggest that following Arizona’s first reported case of COVID-19 in late January, the state experienced no subsequent cases that went undetected and was COVID-free until at least 11 distinct incursions occurred between mid-February and early April.
The published results appear in the scientific journal mBio.
Faculty at Northern Arizona University (NAU), the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of City of Hope, University of Arizona (UArizona) and Arizona State… Read more
NAU and Purdue experts apply microbiome research to agricultural science to help increase crop yield
The global demand and consumption of agricultural crops is increasing at a rapid pace. According to the 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report, global yield needs to increase at an average annual rate of 1.73 percent to sustainably produce food, feed, fiber and bioenergy for 10 billion people in 2050. In the US, however, agricultural productivity is struggling to keep… Read more
NAU team awarded prestigious Chan Zuckerberg grant to build global community around bioinformatics software
Even as NAU associate professor Greg Caporaso and his team were putting the final touches on their QIIME 2™ paper, published earlier this year, he was already planning several major enhancements to this open source and free bioinformatics software that enables scientists to perform microbiome analysis from increasingly large amounts… Read more
NAU researchers seek microbial link between two common and costly respiratory diseases
Asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS)—sinus inflammation that lasts for at least three months—are serious and costly diseases, and both are on the rise. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, CRS affects up to 16 percent of the U.S. adult population and eats up a staggering 5 percent of the country’s healthcare budget each year. Asthma,… Read more
QIIME 2™: NAU team reengineers bioinformatics software for next generation of microbiome science
Over the last 20 years, rapid advances in DNA sequencing and bioinformatics technologies have significantly improved scientists’ understanding of the microbial world. Examples include increased knowledge about the vast diversity of microorganisms; how microbiota and microbiomes impact disease and medical treatment; how microorganisms impact the health of our planet; and the potential for… Read more