Biosciences Area

Diversity Senior Leadership Council Launched at the Lab

Berkeley Lab Director Witherell, in partnership with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Office, has announced the launch of Berkeley Lab’s DEI Senior Leadership Council (SLC). Members of the council include Biosciences Associate Laboratory Director Mary Maxon and Biological Systems & Engineering Division Director Blake Simmons. They, along with ten other councilmembers, will provide senior leadership with support and guidance toward achieving the Lab’s strategic DEI goals.

In his announcement, Witherell said that the SLC “will help carry out our commitment to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion become hallmarks of the Berkeley Lab culture. This council will provide senior management’s support and guidance toward achieving the Lab’s strategic DEI goals. The leadership and perspectives of our council members will be invaluable as we move forward with our strategy and vision for our organization.” Go to the DEI website to learn more.

Biosciences Area Welcomes EGSB Researchers to Aquatic Park

On September 21, the Biosciences Area held a welcome event to acknowledge the coming together of many new and existing research groups at the Aquatic Park facility in West Berkeley. Laboratory Director Mike Witherell and Deputy Director Horst Simon attended and shared their support. The informal program consisted of brief comments by Helen Cademartori, Biosciences Area Deputy for Operations; Louise Glass, Environmental Genomics & Systems Biology (EGSB) Division Director, who provided her perspective via videoconference; Mary Maxon, Associate Laboratory Director for Biosciences; and Mike Witherell. Witherell acknowledged the group for their shared vision for Aquatic Park and the many inter- and cross-Area collaborations that will be fostered through the colocation of these researchers.

Council on Competitiveness Releases Report on Advancing U.S. Bioscience

Biosciences’ ALD Mary Maxon and Chief Science and Technology Officer Jay Keasling recently attended an event in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness. The briefing on Capitol Hill marked the release of the council’s report, Leverage: Advancing U.S. Bioscience, which captures the outputs of a day-long discussion last year about infrastructure, technology, investment, and talent needed for advancements in U.S. bioscience.

Berkeley Lab Director Announces Biosciences Leadership Transition

In a town hall meeting on June 28, Laboratory Director Mike Witherell announced that Biosciences Associate Lab Director Jay Keasling has agreed to take on an important new role as Chief Science and Technology Officer (CSTO) for the Biosciences Area, and Mary Maxon, currently the principal deputy for Biosciences, will replace Keasling as ALD for Biosciences, effective July 1, 2017.

Integrative Genomics Building Groundbreaking

The groundbreaking for the Integrative Genomics Building (IGB), the future home of the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase), took place under sunny skies yesterday, January 31, at the former site of the Bevatron particle accelerator. Notables in attendance included Sharlene Weatherwax, associate director of science for Biological and Environmental Research (BER) at DOE Office of Science; Pier Oddone, former Fermilab director and former Berkeley Lab deputy director; and Kimberley Budil, vice president for national laboratories in the University of California Office of the President. To symbolize their future partnership and signify some of the vast and complex communities of microorganisms that provide the foundation for the research that will be conducted in the IGB, JGI Director-Designate Nigel Mouncey and KBase Principal Investigator Adam Arkin mixed soil samples in beaker mugs and toasted to their shared vision for the Biosciences future colocation on the Hill.

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