Craig Venter

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Dr. Venter (right) with Michael Janich on his visit in Hong Kong in December 2004
Dr. Venter (right) with Michael Janich on his visit in Hong Kong in December 2004

J. Craig Venter (born John Craig Venter October 14, 1946, Salt Lake City) is an American biologist and businessman.

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[edit] Biography

He began his academic career at a community college, College of San Mateo (California), after enlisting in the U.S. Navy and serving a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. On returning, he received his bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1972, and his Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology in 1975, both from the University of California, San Diego. After working as a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he joined the National Institutes of Health in 1984.

While at NIH, Venter learned of a technique for rapidly identifying all of the mRNAs present in a cell, and began to use it to identify human brain genes. The short cDNA sequence fragments discovered by this method are called Expressed sequence tags, or ESTs, a name coined by Anthony Kerlavage at The Institute for Genomic Research. In a controversial court case, Venter tried to patent these gene fragments and lost the case.

[edit] Human Genome Project

He was the former president and founder of Celera Genomics, which became famous for running a parallel version of the Human Genome Project of its own for commercial purposes, using shotgun sequencing technology in 1999. The aim of the Celera project was to create a database of genomic data that users could subscribe to for a fee. This proved very unpopular in the genetics community and spurred several groups to redouble their efforts to produce the full sequence and release it as open access. DNA from 5 individuals was used by Celera to generate the sequence of the human genome; one of the 5 individuals used in this project was Venter. The Human Genome Project, which was composed of many groups from around the world, rendered the attempt to privatise the process unfeasible.[1] Venter was fired by Celera in early 2002 after it became clear that selling genome data would not become profitable and Venter resisted efforts by the company board to change the strategic direction of the company.

Despite their differing motivations, Venter and rival scientist Francis Collins of the National Institute of Health jointly made the announcement of the mapping of the human genome in 2000, along with US President Bill Clinton.[2] Venter and Collins thus shared an award for "Biography of the Year" from A&E Network.[3]

[edit] Current work

Venter founded The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in 1992. He is currently the president of the J. Craig Venter Institute, created and funded by TIGR's board (which Venter chairs). In June of 2005, he co-founded Synthetic Genomics, a firm dedicated to using modified microorganisms to produce ethanol and hydrogen as alternative fuels.

Venter has been the subject of several articles, notably Wired,[citation needed] The Economist,[citation needed] Australian science magazine Cosmos[citation needed] and Atlantic Monthly.[citation needed] Additionally, he was featured on The Colbert Report on February 27, 2007.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] References

  1. ^ Spufford, Francis [2003]. Backroom Boys. Faber. 
  2. ^ Jamie Shreeve, "The Blueprint of Life," U.S. News and World Report, 10/31/05, URL accessed 30 January 2007.
  3. ^ "Montgomery County, Maryland, Press Releases," December 19, 2000, URL accessed 30 January 2007.

[edit] External links

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