William GelbartScience Advisory Board
William M. Gelbart obtained his Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of Wisconsin in 1971. He has been on the faculty of Harvard University since 1976 and is currently Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. His research has focused on gene and genome structure, developmental genetics (in particular understanding the role of intercellular signalling in building complex biological pattern) and bioinformatics and computational biology. He has also made major contributions to the worldwide distribution of scientific information through his role as Principal Investigator for the FlyBase genome database of the major experimental model, the fruit fly Drosophila and as co-Principal Investigator on the VectorBase database project for genomic information on insect vectors of disease such as the mosquitoes that carry malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever. Dr. Gelbart has a long history of advisory roles related to large-scale DNA sequencing, genome analysis and bioinformatics for the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute. In recent years, he has been actively involved in the evaluation of large-scale genome projects for Genome Canada.
