September 15, 2010 -- Bar Harbor, Maine -- Greg Carter, Ph.D., who started his career as a nuclear physicist, now explores the frontiers of biology. Carter, a computational biologist and mathematical physicist, joins The Jackson Laboratory as assistant professor.
As an undergraduate, Carter studied astronomy, but he was drawn to the more analytical, math-heavy particle physics. Carter completed his Ph.D. and three post-doctoral appointments in nuclear physics, and ultimately brought his computational skills to analyzing genetic data at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle.
"I was analyzing particle accelerator data," he says, "sorting through the thousands of data points created by collisions. Analyzing genetic data from microarrays is similar. And there is such open space for progress in genetics and genetic modeling."
He specializes in creating genetic models based on large-scale genetic data sets, which can then be validated in the laboratory. His work at ISB focused on yeast, but he is excited about his move to the Laboratory and a different genetic challenge.
"I'm working to understand how genes interact to produce physical traits and characteristics," Carter says. "I'm interested in human health problem such as cancer and metabolic disorders, and at this point there's much more to be learned by studying specific biological processes in mammalian systems--specifically, in mice--instead of yeast."
The switch won't be easy, but Carter says the Laboratory offers the research environment and resources he needs.
"The computational-bioinformatics group here is terrific, and there are established databases and a huge existing knowledge base. This is the place to study mammalian genetics."
Carter’s appointment marks additional progress in The Jackson Laboratory’s research expansion, whereby the number of research teams is projected to grow from 38 to 45 over the next 5 years.
The Jackson Laboratory is a nonprofit biomedical research institution based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Its mission is to discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human diseases, and to enable research and education for the global biomedical community.
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Note: a high-resolution version of the photo of Dr. Carter is available upon request.
Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058
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Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6058 (journalists only)
Main Jackson Laboratory phone: 207-288-6000
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org
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