The personal divorce was final two years ago。 The professional one dragged on until April， when Claire Fraser-Liggett left the organization headed by her ex-husband， genome scientist J。 Craig Venter， to hoist her own flag over a new institute at the University of Maryland in Baltimore。 As she left， the organization she shepherded to star status in the scientific world melted behind her: on 11 April， The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR)， over which Fraser-Liggett had presided since 1998， was absorbed into the J。 Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and ceased to exist。 Fraser-Liggett says her departure was spurred by the decision in October to make TIGR a division of the JCVI。 "It was just unclear to me what my role in the new organization would be，" she says。 "[But] I want to emphasize that I am not looking to escape a bad situation。" Venter， who is president and chair of the 500-employee JCVI， insists that little has changed。 Genome sequencing， he said in a press release， will remain a "cornerstone" of the institute's activities， as will the microbial and plant sequencing that were TIGR's province。
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