PhD, Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arizona 1998
BS, Chemistry, University of Delaware 1993
College of Medicine
The Genomics Facility Core provides researchers with genomics services including sequencing, microarrays, and real time PCR along with support in sample preparation, experiment design, and data analysis.
Dr. Watts' own lab is working to improve clinical diagnosis of infection using next-gen sequencing. They are interested in providing more accurate and rapid diagnosis in clinical settings that are typically difficult to diagnose such as valley fever,
neutropenic fever, and diabetic foot ulcers.
As co-director of the Genomics Facility Core in the Center grant Dr. Watts over-sees daily operation of the laboratory staff, participates in future planning, and implement new technologies and techniques. He is also responsible for budgetary planning, billing, yearly reporting, generation of grant applications, and community outreach (both research and the lay public). Finally, and most importantly, he is the initial point of contact for researchers considering the Genomic Core’s services, assisting users in defining their research questions, in questions of sample preparation, quality control, and finally choosing an appropriate platform. He can also assist users in getting the data analysis need by pointing them to the resources available through the Biostatistics Core and helping to shape their expectations. He has developed microarray and sequencing capability within the Core and has been running the Genomics Core for 14 years. His research is heavily dependent on microarray and genomic applications thus giving him the experience of a user as well as provider of genomics technology and giving him the perspective of the researchers coming to the Core for assistance.