Stuart Levine co-leads the Robert A. Swanson (1969) Biotechnology Center’s Integrated Genomics and Bioinformatics core facility, bringing PhD-level education, expansive scientific and technological expertise, and hands on training opportunities to the table in support of researchers across more than 100 labs annually at the Koch Institute and MIT.
Levine and his team work with cutting-edge, finely tuned scientific instruments that generate vast amounts of bioinformatics data, and then use powerful computational tools to store, organize, and visualize the data collected, contributing to research on topics in cancer and beyond, from host-parasite interactions to proposed tools for NASA’s planetary protection policy.
Even before his tenure at the Swanson Biotechnology Center, Levine was steeped as an undergrad and postdoc in the culture of MIT’s biology and cancer research communities, where he now plays a vital role. While he has been recognized with multiple Institute awards over the past 15 years, Levine is known for staying out of the spotlight and putting researchers and their projects first.
Levine makes sure his facility’s resources and capacity keep pace with the needs of MIT researchers, both by maintaining industry contacts and recruiting direct support. For example, he secured a pilot award from the MIT Stem Cell Initiative to enable critical improvements in DNA and RNA sample extraction, allowing the facility to move from a labor intensive, expensive manual process prone to variability to an automated system.
Levine notes, “the ROI [return on investment] for supporting shared resources is extremely high because whatever support we receive impacts not just one lab, but all of the labs we support. Keeping MIT’s shared resources at the bleeding edge of science is critical to our ability to make a difference in the world.”