Beth Shapiro, Ph.D. Chief Science Officer at Colossal (Photo: Business Wire)
Colossal, a company that seeks to bring the mammoth and dodo bird back from extinction, is expanding its support for ancient DNA academic collaborations by pledging a gift of $500K to the UCSC Genomics Institute.
UC Santa Cruz is one of the leaders in the field of ancient DNA and paleogenomics research. Beth Shapiro, Associate Director for Paleogenomics for the UCSC Genomics Institute, has literally written the book on how to de-extinct a woolly mammoth. Shapiro was recently named the new Chief Science Officer for Colossal. Her lab will continue to do basic research on ancient DNA and how ecosystems and species have evolved over many millenia .
“We are grateful to Colossal for its donation in support of paleogenomics research,” said Lauren Linton, Executive Director of the UCSC Genomics Institute. “The gift from Colossal enables our talented researchers and students to pursue discovery-based science that has real-world impact. This research partnership between academia and industry illustrates how goals can be mutually aligned and both can work together to realize the ultimate potential of discovery.”