The Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) announced that Nathan Hillson has been appointed as Chief Information Officer (CIO). Hillson will be responsible for leading JBEI initiatives involving automation, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and data analytics. His role will also focus on driving innovation and adoption of emerging technologies related to data collection, management and analysis. 

Hillson, who joined JBEI in 2009, also currently serves as JBEI’s Director of Synthetic Biology Informatics, where he leads the development of synthetic biology software and laboratory automation infrastructure that facilitate the engineering of microbes to produce fuels and chemicals from cellulosic biomass. 

In addition to his roles at JBEI, Hillson is the Department Head of Biodesign in the Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) Division, leading the development of basic science discovery and technologies to enable the biomanufacturing of fuels, chemicals, and materials. 

Hillson is also the Lead Principal Investigator for the Agile BioFoundry. He received his PhD in Biophysics from Harvard Medical School in 2004. His expertise includes biomanufacturing, computational methods, and synthetic biology.