Watson Lecture: Rob Phillips Explores the Poetry of the Genome
February 07, 2025
What if we could decipher the language of DNA? On February 26, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. PT in Caltech's Beckman Auditorium, Rob Phillips, the Fred and Nancy Morris Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics, will explore efforts to interpret the symbols that make up a genome, which is the entire set of DNA for an organism.
In a public talked called "The Hidden Poetry of the Genome," Phillips will discuss some of the most significant challenges in understanding what DNA means in different organisms. Although scientists have a collection of symbols—the A, C, G, and T letters that make up the "alphabet" for DNA—to spell out unique genetic codes, there is still much that we don't know about their meaning. Comparing A, C, G, T sequences to a genomic Rosetta Stone, Phillips will explain how he and his lab are engaged in an experimental and theoretical mission to find the rules of the poetry hidden in the genome.
"Whether it's letters in an alphabet, whether it's symbols and mathematics; whether it's the letters A, C, G, and T in the context of DNA; whether it's the ones and zeros on all the electronic devices in a room; those are weird abstract representations of what we know about the world around us," Phillips says. "So, we have all this DNA-sequence information, but what does it mean? What is the grammar? What would it mean for us to really understand the language of DNA?"
Starting at 6 p.m., members of Phillip's lab will be present to answer questions about their current research.
Phillips earned a PhD in condensed matter physics from Washington University in 1989. Before becoming a scientist, he spent seven years traveling, self-studying, and working as an electrician. Phillips joined Caltech as the Clark Millikan Visiting Assistant Professor in 1997, and his lab focuses on questions such as how genomes are regulated to give rise to cellular physiology and how the molecules of the cell come together to form organized structures. His many honors include a National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016, numerous distinguished lectureships, and the Book of the Year award from the Royal Society of Biologists for Physical Biology of the Cell, a book that grew out of his Caltech course of the same name.
The Watson Lectures offer new opportunities each month to hear how Caltech researchers are tackling society's most pressing challenges and inventing the technologies of the future. Join a community of curiosity outside Beckman Auditorium to enjoy food, drinks, and music together before each lecture. Interactive displays related to the evening's topic will give audience members additional context and information. The festivities start at 6 p.m. Guests are also encouraged to stay for post-talk coffee and tea as well as the chance to converse with attendees and researchers.
Learn more about the Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series and its history at Caltech.edu/Watson.
Watson Lectures are free and open to the public. Register online. A recording will be made available after the live event.
