Discovery Park Distinguished Lecturer: Gene Robinson, Me to We: Searching for the Genetic Roots of Social Life

Gene E. Robinson obtained his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1986 and joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989. He holds a University SwanlundChair and is also the director of the Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) and director of the Bee Research Facility. He served as an interim director of the IGB from 2011-2012, director of the Neuroscience Program from 2001-2011, and leader of the Neural and Behavioral Plasticity Theme at the IGB from 2004-2011. He is the author or co-author of over 275 publications, including 26 published in Science or Nature; has been the recipient or co-recipient of over $50M in funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Agriculture and private foundations; pioneered the application of genomics to the study of social behavior, led the effort to gain approval from the National Institutes of Health for sequencing the honey bee genome, and founded the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium.

Robinson serves on the National Institute of Mental Health Advisory Council and has past and current appointments on scientific advisory boards for companies with significant interests in genomics. Dr. Robinson’s honors include: University Scholar and member of the Center of Advanced Study at the University of Illinois; Burroughs WellcomeInnovation Award in Functional Genomics; Founders Memorial Award from the Entomological Society of America; Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship; Guggenheim Fellowship; NIH Pioneer Award; Honorary Doctorate from Hebrew University; Fellow, Animal Behavior Society; Fellow, Entomological Society of America, Fellow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences; and member of the US National Academy of Sciences.