A map of the Brain

Thursday 21 February 2013

Allan Jones joined the Allen Institute in 2003 to help start up the organization as one of its first employees. Bringing extensive expertise in project leadership and high-throughput genomics operations from prior management positions at Merck and Co., Rosetta Inpharmatics and Avitech Diagnostics, Jones was instrumental in recruiting an integrated interdisciplinary team, building the Institute’s scientific operations from the ground up and successfully driving the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas to completion in 2006.
Working closely with the founders, scientific advisors, and business advisors, Jones provided strategic leadership and vision through the expansion of the Institute’s portfolio of large-scale, high-impact initiatives from the mouse brain atlas through to work on the human brain. Following a focused business model for project planning and execution, Jones has driven multiple projects from conception to delivery as free, public resources, gaining support from the NIH, as well as various foundations and other funders to further expand the Institute’s offerings.
Jones has broad scientific experience in genetics, molecular biology and development. Jones holds a B.S. degree in biology from Duke University and a Ph.D. in genetics and developmental biology from Washington University School of Medicine.
Allen Institute for Brain Science
The Allen Institute for Brain Science — based in Seattle, kick started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen — has a mission to fuel discoveries about the human brain by building tools the entire scientific community can use. As CEO, one of Allan Jones’ first projects was to lead the drive to create a comprehensive atlas of the brain of a mouse. Flash forward to April 2011, when the Allen Institute announced the first milestone in its online interactive atlas of the human brain, showing the activity of the more than 20,000 human genes it contains. It’s based on a composite of 15 brains, since every human brain is unique.??The Allen Human Brain Atlas as a high-tech bridge between brain anatomy and genetics. Using this atlas, scientists will be able to determine where in the brain genes that encode specific proteins are active, including proteins that are affected by medication. Or researchers could zoom in on brain structures thought to be altered in mental disorders such as schizophrenia to find their molecular footprint. The atlas may provide clues to memory, attention, motor coordination, hunger, and perhaps emotions such as happiness or anxiety. Jones says: “Understanding how our genes are used in our brains will help scientists and the medical community better understand and discover new treatments for the full spectrum of brain diseases and disorders.”