Advancing Biosecurity for All
About our group
The Biosecurity and Bioforensics group is part of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. We focus on solving hard problems and developing new and innovative technologies.
Mission: Deliver intelligence-informed, science-based solutions to problems affecting human health and national security.
Vision: Combine cutting-edge sequencing technologies and bioinformatic approaches to develop data-driven models of infection and medical countermeasures.
Our current thrust areas are in:
- Bioremediation
- Metagenomic sequencing
- Bioinformatic analysis of naturally-occurring communities
- Advanced genetic engineering technologies such as CRISPR/Cas and how they affect cells and organisms
We work with various federal sponsors to deliver high-quality, science-based solutions to constantly-evolving needs.
In the news

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Our capabilities
Our group’s core capabilities are:
- High-throughput sequencing
- Bioinformatics
- Development of novel antimicrobials
- Bioremediation
- Advanced genetic engineering technologies
We work with various organizations across LLNL to support our sponsors by solving hard problems and developing new and innovative technologies.
We provide subject matter expertise for the intelligence community of potential dual-use technologies, and we partner closely with the Biosecurity Center in Global Security.

Our team
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Chris Bailey
Staff Scientist
bailey38 [at] llnl.gov
+19254220578

Todd Corzett
Staff Scientist
tcorzett [at] llnl.gov
+19254239849
Matt Lyman
Group Leader, BioSecurity & BioForensics
Stephanie Malfatti
Staff Scientist
malfatti3 [at] llnl.gov
+19254231472
Wes Overton
Deputy Group Leader, BioSecurity and BioForensics

Roxanna Pignolet
Staff Scientist
pignolet1 [at] llnl.gov

Bonnee Rubinfeld
Research Scientist
rubinfeld1 [at] llnl.gov
+19254237956

Edwin A. Saada
Staff Scientist
saada1 [at] llnl.gov
Salustra Urbin
Staff Scientist
urbin2 [at] llnl.gov
+19254229320
Lisa Vergez
Staff Scientist
vergez1 [at] llnl.gov
+19254237632
Our publications
Below is a list of some of our publications.
2019
Lyman MG, Urbin S, Strout C, Rubinfeld B. Book Chapter. The Oleaginous Red Yeast Rhodotorula/Rhodosporidium: A Factory for Industrial Bioproducts. Yeasts in Biotechnology. IntechOpen.
Park DM, Overton KW, Jiao Y. The UzcRS two-component system in Caulobacter crescentus integrates regulatory input from diverse auxiliary regulators. Molecular Microbiology 111(3):678-699.
2018
Lyman MG, Rubinfeld B, Leif R, Mulcahy H, Dugan L, and Souza B. Rhodotorula taiwanensis MD1149 Produces Hypoacetylated PEFA Compounds with Increased Surface Activity Compared to Rhodotorula babjevae MD1169. PLoS ONE 13(1): e0190373.
2017
Park DM, Overton KW, Liou MJ, Jiao Y. Identification of a U/Zn/Cu responsive global regulatory two-component system in Caulobacter crescentus. Molecular Microbiology 104(1):46-64.
Tkavc R, Grichenko OE, Matrosova VY, Gostincar C, Volpe RP, Klimenkova P, Gaidamakova EK, Zhou CE, Steward BJ, Lyman MG, Malfatti SA, Rubinfeld B, Singh J, Dalgard CL, Gunde-Cimerman N, Dugan LL, Daly MJ. Prospects for Fungal Bioremediation of Acidic Radioactive Waste Sites: Characterization and Genome Sequence of Rhodotorula taiwanensis MD1149. Front. Microbiol 8:2528.
2016
Grady SL, Malfatti SA, Gunasekera TS, Daley BK, Lyman MG, Striebich RC, Mathew MB, Zhou CL, Ruiz ON, Dugan LC. A Comprehensive Multi-Omics Approach Uncovers Adaptations for Growth and Survival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on n-alkanes. BMC Genomics 18:334.
Overton KW, Park DM, Yung MC, Dohnalkova AC, Smit J, Jiao Y. Two outer membrane proteins contribute to Caulobacter crescentus cellular fitness by preventing intracellular S-layer protein accumulation. Appl Environ Microbiol 82:6961–6972.
2015
Yung MC, Park DM, Overton KW, Blow MJ, Hoover CA, Smit J, Murray SR, Ricci DP, Christen B, Bowman GR, Jiao Y. Transposon mutagenesis paired with deep sequencing of Caulobacter crescentus under uranium stress reveals genes essential for detoxification and stress tolerance. J Bacteriol 197:3160-72.
Fischer NO, Weilhammer DR, Dunkle A, Thomas C, Hwang M, Corzett M, Lychak C, Urbin S, Collette NC, Chang JC, Loots G, Rasley A, Blanchette C. Evaluation of Nanolipoprotein Particles (NLPs) as an In Vivo Delivery Platform. PLoS ONE 9(3): e93342.