Anton Nekrutenko

Anton Nekrutenko was born in Kiev, Ukraine (former USSR). He received a Masters’ in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Kiev State University. He then moved to the US to complete his Ph.D. at Texas Tech University.

Dr Nekrutenko performed postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago where he switched his interest to computational genomics. After moving to the Pennsylvania State University as an Assistant Professor, he and his collaborators developed the Galaxy platform for analysis of biological data. He is now a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and founding member ofgalaxyproject.org.

The Galaxy Project, a leading web-based platform for biological data analysis, was started in my laboratory in 2005. Since that time it has grown into a vibrant worldwide community that brings together biological researchers, software developers, and educators across all five continents.

Despite this remarkable success the current system lags in its applicability to viral and bacterial research problems. This is a critical flaw as microbial genomics is immensely important to overcoming some of the most critical issues of modern biomedical research such as antibiotic resistance, emergence of new pathogens, or global pandemics such as the one caused by SARS-CoV-2.

The goal of this proposal is to directly address these deficiencies by joining forces with researchers actively involved in microbiological research and strengthening the links between European and North American sides of the Galaxy project. This fellowship with MAK’IT, in collaboration with the Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), the leading specialist in microbial evolutionary genomics, will help me fully understand the immediate challenges faced by experimental microbiologists.