George Weinstock, Ph.D.

Professor, Evnin Family Chair and Director of Microbial Genomics

Leverages advanced technologies to investigate infectious diseases, human and other mammalian microbiomes, and their clinical impact.

Visit The Weinstock Lab

Contact me at: 860-837-2420

Connect with me:

About George Weinstock, Ph.D.

In the last decade, leaps in DNA sequencing technologies have transformed our ability to collect and analyze genomic information. This revolution has opened up entirely new areas of study from human to microbial and infectious disease research. Currently, understanding the microbiome (the vast collection of microbes in our body with which we coexist), its interactions with its host (us) and its contributions to health and disease is a vital new research area that he is focusing on. The Weinstock Laboratory leverages advanced technologies to investigate infectious diseases and mammalian microbiomes.

Download cv

Consortia papers

Fraser, C.M., Norris, S.J., Weinstock, G.M., White, O., Sutton, G.G., Dodson, R., Gwinn, M., Hickey, E.K., Clayton, R., Ketchum, K.A., Sodergren, E., Hardham, J.M., McLeod, M.P., Salzberg, S., Peterson, J., Khalak, H., Richardson, D., Howell, J.K., Chidambaram, M., Utterback, T., McDonald, L., Artiach, P., Bowman, C., Cotton, M.D., Fujii, C., Garland, S., Hatch, B., Horst, K., Roberts, K., Watthey, L., Weidman, J., Smith, H.O., and Venter, J.C.: Complete genome sequence of Treponema pallidum, the syphilis spirochete. Science 281:375-388, 1998.

International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium: Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. Nature 409: 860-921, 2001.

Gibbs, R. A. et al. Genome sequence of the Brown Norway rat yields insights into mammalian evolution. Nature 428, 493-521, 2004.

International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium. Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome. Nature 431:931-45, 2004.

Wheeler, D.A., Srinivasan, M., Egholm, M., Shen, Y., Chen, L., McGuire, A., He, W., Chen, Y.-J., Makhijani, V., Roth, G.T., Gomes, X., Tartaro, K., Niazi, F. Turcotte, C.L., Irzyk, G.P., Lupski, J.R., Chinault, A.C., Song, X.-Z., Liu, Y., Yuan, Y., Nazareth, L., Qin, Xiang., Muzny, D.M., Margulies, M., Weinstock, G.M., Gibbs, R.A., Rothberg, J.M. The complete genome of an individual by massively parallel DNA sequencing. Nature 452:872-876, 2008.

The Human Microbiome Jumpstart Reference Strains Consortium, Nelson KE, Weinstock GM, Highlander SK, Worley KC, Creasy HH, Wortman JR, Rusch DB, Mitreva M, Sodergren E, Chinwalla AT, Feldgarden M, Gevers D, Haas BJ, Madupu R, Ward DV, Birren BW, Gibbs RA, Methe B, Petrosino JF, Strausberg RL, Sutton GG, White OR, Wilson RK, Durkin S, Giglio MG, Gujja S, Howarth C, Kodira CD, Kyrpides N, Mehta T, Muzny DM, Pearson M, Pepin K, Pati A, Qin X, Yandava C, Zeng Q, Zhang L, Berlin AM, Chen L, Hepburn TA, Johnson J, McCorrison J, Miller J, Minx P, Nusbaum C, Russ C, Sykes SM, Tomlinson CM, Young S, Warren WC, Badger J, Crabtree J, Markowitz VM, Orvis J, Cree A, Ferriera S, Fulton LL, Fulton RS, Gillis M, Hemphill LD, Joshi V, Kovar C, Torralba M, Wetterstrand KA, Abouellleil A, Wollam AM, Buhay CJ, Ding Y, Dugan S, Fitzgerald MG, Holder M, Hostetler J, Clifton SW, Allen-Vercoe E, Earl AM, Farmer CN, Liolios K, Surette MG, Xu Q, Pohl C, Wilczek-Boney K, Zhu D. A Catalog of Reference Genomes from the Human Microbiome. Science. 328:994-999, 2010. PMID: 20489017

Human Microbiome Project Consortium. A framework for human microbiome research. Nature 486:215-221, 2012. doi: 10.1038/nature11209. PMID: 22699610.

Human Microbiome Project Consortium. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature 486:207-214, 2012. doi: 10.1038/nature11234. PMID: 22699609.

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

Whereas large-scale efforts have rapidly advanced the understanding and practical impact of human genomic variation, the practical impact of variation is largely unexplored in the human microbiome. We therefore developed a framework for metagenomic variation analysis and applied it to 252 faecal metagenomes of 207 individuals from Europe and North America. Using 7.4 billion reads aligned to 101 reference species, we detected 10.3 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 107,991 short insertions/deletions, and 1,051 structural variants. The average ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous polymorphism rates of 0.11 was more variable between gut microbial species than across human hosts. Subjects sampled at varying time intervals exhibited individuality and temporal stability of SNP variation patterns, despite considerable composition changes of their gut microbiota. This indicates that individual-specific strains are not easily replaced and that an individual might have a unique metagenomic genotype, which may be exploitable for personalized diet or drug intake.

View full list of publications

Research HighlightJune 05, 2020
Training the next generation of precision geneticists for aging and dementia research
Jackson Laboratory faculty have secured grant funding that will help train predoctoral students in cutting edge genetic theory and practice in the “Training Program in Precision Genetics of Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias."
- Alzheimer's Disease
- CADR
Press ReleaseMay 30, 2019
Investigating the details of type 2 diabetes onset
A new study published in Nature sets a new precedent for understanding the development of type 2 diabetes, and it provides a trove of data for ongoing research.
Press ReleaseOctober 02, 2018
Addiction: The microbiome link
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has made a $4M grant to JAX scientists to explore the roles of the microbiome and genetics in substance use disorders.
Press ReleaseAugust 16, 2017
New $1.9M federal grant to fund JAX studies of microbiome’s role in multiple sclerosis
Research by Yanjiao Zhou will explore microbiome mechanisms leading to MS and preventive potential of intermittent fasting.

Search MagazineJune 19, 2019
The Microbiome Revolution
Miguel Ilzarbe, Director of Operations and Administration, and Professor George Weinstock, Ph.D., discuss how to harness the health benefits of the microbiome. Photo by Charles Camarda.
Search MagazineMay 22, 2019
JAX scientists speak out on the crisis of opioid addiction
JAX scientists are intensifying their efforts to shed light on the genetic and neurobiological causes of addiction, along with the impact of environmental influences.
Research HighlightJanuary 31, 2018
The quantified self, weight fluctuation and insulin resistance
Researchers recently dove deeper into the biology of human weight fluctuation and insulin resistance than ever before.
- Microbiome
- Diabetes and Obesity
Research HighlightAugust 14, 2017
Exploring the gut microbiomes of highly trained endurance athletes
Does the composition of highly trained athletes’ microbiomes differ from that of other people, and what role might microbes play in the competitive landscape?
- Microbiome
- Genetics and Genomics