Wesley Warren PhD

Dr. Wesley Warren joined the McDonnell Genome Institute in 2001 where he currently serves as Assistant Director of Comparative Genomics. Dr. Warren is an internationally recognized expert in animal comparative genomics. He has received the honor of being published multiple times on the cover of NATURE featuring the chicken, platypus, orangutan, elephant shark, Y chromosomes and, most recently, the small ape gibbon.

Dr. Warren's NATURE publication on the zebra finch genome focused on the genetic drivers of vocal learning and was featured as the lead news story for both NPR and ABC Nightly News. The application of genomics to the identification of biological markers for environmental and physiological drivers within multiple phylums remains a key research focus for Dr. Warren.

Dr. Warren's research interests focus on the use of whole genome analysis methods to dissect the underlying molecular signatures linked to biological observations in various species of vertebrates. Dr. Warren's research group uses various whole genome comparative methods to examine changes in gene evolution, including loss and gain events and unknown natural or artificial selection marks, as a means to better understand human biology. The identification of these gene aberrations in evolutionary time promises to engender new thoughts on the molecular workings of observed traits.

Dr. Warren has played a lead role in the analysis of many vertebrate genomes, including chicken, platypus, zebra finch, orangutan, vervet, platyfish, elephant shark, cat, house fly and tarsier genomes and is an integral team member in the analysis of many others. He also co-leads a consortium tasked with the sequencing and characterization of the Y chromosomes of several mammals and the bird Z and W chromosomes.

In addition to whole genome analysis research, Dr. Warren leads a de novo genome assembly group that is seeking better ways to construct assemblies from next-generation sequencing platforms.