Steven Henikoff

Molecular biologist Steven Henikoff is Professor in the Basic Sciences Division of Fred Hutch, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Affiliate Faculty in Genome Sciences at University of Washington. He studies the structure, function and evolution of our DNA molecules, or chromosomes. He also develops tools for comparing gene sequences, determining the arrangement of genes in living cells and understanding the biological functions of genes. Credited with helping build the infrastructure for analyzing the human genome, Henikoff was among the first to realize that computing and the internet could revolutionize biological research.

In 1992, he and his wife, Jorja Henikoff, developed a computational method that researchers have used to compare the relatedness among all living things, making it possible to uncover the roots of human diseases through the study of simpler organisms. He and his colleagues have also developed techniques that allow scientists to map features of chromosomes that are altered when genes are switched on or off. These methods can offer insights into gene activity, including how an embryo develops into an adult animal or how healthy cells become cancerous.

The Henikoff Lab focuses on better understanding inheritance that does not depend on DNA sequence by applying genomic tools to the study of proteins of the epigenome: histones, transcription factors, nucleosome remodelers, and RNA polymerase II.

Henikoff received his Ph.D., in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard and did postdoctoral work in zoology at the University of Washington.