More than 20 years after its founding, the Center for Vertebrate Genomics (CVG) heard from a Cornellian who was there for its launch: President Michael I. Kotlikoff, who helped shape the university's genomics landscape.
As a department chair and later dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kotlikoff played a key role in helping recruit the faculty whose work became foundational to the creation of CVG, said William Lai, CVG interim director and assistant research professor in molecular biology and genetics and computational biology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
During his lecture, part of the CVG's "Stories" series, Kotlikoff reflected on his journey. After studying ion-channel physiology at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved into mammalian genetics at Cornell, focusing on cardiac injury and repair. His lab developed influential fluorescent and optogenetic tools, clarified the limits of precursor-cell-driven heart regeneration, and explored cell therapy strategies for arrhythmias.
"One of the highlights of my scientific career that you'll see is that my lab has just moved from technology to technology as the questions called for different approaches," Kotlikoff said. "I've enjoyed being able to see science progress, utilize the increase, the change in technology, and try and use those to attack significant problems."
Kotlikoff said he continues to employ scientific thinking as university president. "Asking rigorous questions, analyzing facts, and making data-informed decisions are essential to running a complex institution like Cornell."
CVG is a universitywide hub with more than 100 affiliated faculty spanning biomedical sciences, neurobiology, computational biology, nutritional science and other disciplines to advance vertebrate genetics and functional genomics. The center's mission is to foster campuswide collaborations in genome-scale biology; enrich the training environment for graduate students and postdoctoral students; and help recruit outstanding scientists. The CVG Stories series provides informal opportunities to learn how researchers grow as scientists, mentors and leaders on campus.
"Events like this are incredibly inspiring for the CVG community," Lai said, "especially for our trainees."
Stephen D'Angelo is the communications manager for biological systems at Cornell Research and Innovation.
