Sergey Koren is a research professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Johns Hopkins University. A pioneer in the use of single-molecule sequencing to reconstruct complete genomes, he develops algorithms for the efficient analysis of large-scale genomic datasets, with a particular focus on genome assembly.
Genome assembly is the process of reconstructing a genome from sequencing data, comparable to solving a jigsaw puzzle with billions of pieces. Repetitive regions make this process especially challenging because individual sequence fragments cannot always be placed unambiguously, which is why Koren pioneered the use of noisy long-read data to produce complete, high-quality genome assemblies.
Koren has led the development of several widely used genome assembly methods and tools. As a key contributor to the Vertebrate Genomes Project, he helped establish new computational methods and quality standards for producing near-error-free reference genomes across vertebrate species. His work with the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium contributed to the first complete human genome sequence. And through the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium, Koren is now helping extend these advances to many individuals. All in all, his work continues to advance the field toward making complete personalized genomics a reality.
Koren has been named a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher every year since 2020, placing him among the top 0.1% of scientists worldwide. He is also a recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Award and a finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal.
Koren received his BS, MS, and PhD in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Before joining Johns Hopkins in 2026, he worked at the J. Craig Venter Institute, served as a principal investigator at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, and was an associate investigator and founding member of the Genome Informatics Section at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the NIH.