Episode: 16 - Kjiersten Fagnan on the JGI’s Genome Citation Service That Tracks Genomes Across Research

Kjiersten Fagnan is an applied mathematician enamored of biology’s messy datasets. Now, as chief informatics officer at the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI), located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, she finds bioinformatics' computational and data challenges very different from applied math or partial differential equations. Fagnan is the newest guest on the Trends from the Trenches podcast, speaking with host Stan Gloss of BioTeam about JGI’s Genome Citation Service, a new offering that connects the broader community with the organization’s massive data resources and infrastructure. 

Fagnan talks about the centralized data management system JGI deployed 10 years ago in response to exponential data growth and the questions it forced the organization to ask about the quality and utility of the data it produces and manages. “One of our goals is to see… the impact of the data generated amplified through reuse of the data,” she says. Fagnan also discusses JGI’s strategic collaboration with NamesforLife to create a unique global identifier to help researchers link work on the same microbe even as naming conventions change over time. Additionally, she talks about why perfection is the enemy of reality and JGI’s immediate and long-term plans for the Genome Citation Service. 

Links from this episode:  
Bio-IT World
BioTeam
Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute
2023 Bio-IT World Conference & Expo
Kjiersten Fagnan’s direct email
The Role of Data Management in Advancing Biology
JGI’s Integrated Microbial Genomes & Microbiomes (IMG/M) system
JGI’s Genomes OnLine Database 

Bio-IT World’s Trends from the Trenches podcast delivers your insider’s look at the science, technology, and executive trends driving the life sciences through conversations with industry leaders.