Benjamin Bowen

Bioinformaticist Staff Scientist

Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology

Molecular EcoSystems Biology

Building: 91, Room 110H2
Mail Stop: 100PGF100
Phone: (480) 225-2341
BPBowen@lbl.gov
http://openmsi.nersc.gov

Programs & Initiatives

OpenMSI
Metabolite Atlas
Biochemical Modeling
Compound Discovery and Identification

Research Interests

Understanding biological mechanisms associated with change.

Understanding complex, dynamic metabolic networks in an environmental context will require utilization of emerging technologies. These datasets generated are often large-scale both in terms of complexity and raw-size making them difficult to mine for biological insight. Ben is leading the OpenMSI and Metabolite Atlas efforts to make the most high-performance, advanced data management, model building, analysis and visualization resources for mass spectrometry accessible to all scientists via the web.

Selected Publications

LinkedIn Profile
ResearchGate Profile

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JGI Helps Uncover Novel Chemicals from an Unexpected Source: Gut Fungi

April 28, 2021

Anaerobic fungi, which die in the presence of oxygen, thrive in herbivore guts and help them digest their host’s last leafy meal. In their evolutionary history, these fungi branched off early from aerobic fungi, which can breathe oxygen — just like we do. Oxygen is a rich source of energy, and because anaerobic fungi can’t harness it, scientists long held that these fungi don’t have the energy to make complex compounds called natural products. Yet, analyzing the genomes and genome products of four anaerobic fungal species has revealed that this group is unexpectedly powerful: they can whip up dozens of complex natural products, including new ones. The work was partly enabled by the “Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science” (FICUS) collaborative science initiative between the JGI and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. Read the full science highlight on the JGI website.

Computing Sciences and Biosciences Hold Machine Learning Workshop

April 9, 2018

The Lab’s Computing Sciences and Biosciences Areas jointly held a week-long workshop focused on machine learning in data science, the goal of which was to build bridges through a common foundation in statistical computing. Thirty attendees from Biosciences, Computing Sciences, and Lab IT received hands-on training provided by Data Incubator before engaging in a “hackathon” to apply the techniques to relevant science problems and data sets.

Berkeley Lab’s OpenMSI Licensed to ImaBiotech

May 19, 2016

Two years ago, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers developed OpenMSI—the most advanced computational tool for analyzing and visualizing mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) data. Last year, this web-available tool was selected as one of the 100 most technologically significant new products of the year by R&D Magazine. Now, OpenMSI has been licensed to bolster ImaBiotech’s Multimaging™ technology in the field of pharmaceutical and cosmetic research and development. With support from the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), Ben Bowen of the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division and Oliver Rübel of the Computational Research Division conceptualized and developed OpenMSI.

Research Interests

About Biosciences

Divisions & User Facility

Resources