About GenOps

​Creative science for conservation impact, at a time when it's needed most

The Genomic Opportunities Lab (GenOps) is an initiative of the Kartzinel Lab at Brown University—widely recognized as creative strategists at the nexus of field ecology and genomics research—with particular expertise in dietary DNA metabarcoding and conservation genetics.

The lab's work is positioned at the frontiers of molecular ecology, conservation biology, and genome-enabled science. It is hosted by the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society and Brown University's Division of Biology and Medicine. We partner with conservation organizations around the world to develop solutions for real-world environmental challenges.

Why We Launched GenOps

The conservation research landscape has been changing for years—but it came to a head in 2025, when sweeping policy changes made it dramatically harder for ecologists and conservationists to rely on the traditional strategies that had long sustained impactful research. Funding was suddenly in short supply. Training opportunities were being cut. Across the field, researchers and practitioners alike were being asked to do more with less.

As challenges to traditional research mounted in 2025, I launched the Genomic Opportunities Lab (GenOps) to amplify the real-world impact of our work. One of our greatest strengths is the experience and commitment we bring to break down barriers that keep cutting-edge science from reaching the front lines of conservation. We have always existed at the nexus of basic and applied research. The intent of GenOps is to reach further beyond the bounds of our long-term research projects—broadening community, improving public outreach, and diversifying our fundraising efforts. My goal is to build a platform that is empowering to all of our lab members and partners, regardless of technical specialty
-Dr. Tyler Kartzinel, Founder of GenOps

How We Succeed in Our Mission

Because GenOps is not a commercial outfit, we can prioritize the value of every research and training dollar in ways that a for-profit company simply cannot. That freedom has made us especially effective at leveraging our resources and creatively financing sequence-powered insights that serve the greater good—insights that might otherwise never make it out of a grant proposal and into the field.

This is the spirit that underpins everything we do: our programs are not designed around what's most profitable or most technologically trendy, but around what unlocks the most impact for the people who are doing the hard and sometimes dangerous work required to drive change at the forefront of conservation and management on the ground.

Current Programming & Investments

The GenOps mission takes shape in initiatives like our Partnership Program, which offers conservation organizations, agencies, and researchers steeply discounted access to dietary DNA metabarcoding—as well as training and capacity-building opportunities in the lab. Of course, as a university-based program we routinely host students and postdocs at pivotal career stages and strive to document of our lab protocols and bioinformatic code in ways that serve the broader research community.

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Call for proposals:
***​The 2026-27 program will be announced by September 2026***

Not able to partner? Consider a donation to help expand what's possible in the genomics age