Biologists aren’t the only ones working on the human genome these days. Engineer Robert Nicol, SM ‘01, is bringing industrial techniques, engineering, and business management to the Broad Institute’s efforts to read and catalogue the data contained in DNA. This knowledge will help researchers decipher the fundamental processes of life and develop medicines to combat cancer and other diseases.
Determining the DNA sequence of a large genome–like that of humans–requires an industrial-scale process because of the millions of reactions that must be performed. Nicol and his Broad colleagues isolate the DNA from the organism to be sequenced, break it into fragments, amplify the fragments, attach fluorescent labels, and then read the labeled fragments using laser-based detectors. Specialized computer programs then assemble the fragments into a usable genome sequence. Nicol and his team of 120 people have cut the cost of sequencing in half every two years.
Nicol worked in petrochemicals for Fluor Daniel after he got his SB in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston in 1992. By 1999, he was ready for a change. “I wanted a switch to something that makes the world a better place,” he says. “I wanted to be on the cutting edge.” He came to MIT to earn a dual master’s degree in chemical engineering and management through the Leaders for Manufacturing Program.
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