Dr. Joel Parker is Director of the Lineberger Bioinformatics Core and Research Associate Professor of Genetics at UNC. His research is focused on methodological development and integrated analysis supporting high-throughput research activities. Joel’s work in this field began with a double major in biology and computer science from the University of Tennessee (1999), and then followed with an MS at Vanderbilt University (2002). He worked in the lab of Chuck Perou before moving into industry as a bioinformatics consultant first with Constella Group, then Expression Analysis, a genomics services startup. During this time he received his PhD at UNC (2010). Joel’s PhD work and continuing work with Nanostring resulted in Prosigna, the first FDA-approved IVDMIA with indications in breast cancer. Shortly after completing his PhD he returned to UNC to lead the Lineberger Bioinformatics Core. Under his leadership the core has grown to 20 employees, including eight PhDs in computational science.