Next-Gen Sequencing Automation Agenda

Registration

A Comparison of Both De Novo and Transcriptome Analysis for Exploring the Diversity within the Gene Pool
Guy Barker, Director, University of Warwick, United Kingdom

Transcriptome sequencing across gene pools can provide answers to a number of questions.  The  application to a systems approach for pathway analysis will be shown.

Can we Exploit the Power of NGS to Move Towards Personalized Medicine?
Elia Stupka, Co-Director/Head, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy

NGS is becoming common place in a clinical environment. Generating data, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. A talk on  successes, failures and challenges ahead, if we want to turn NGS into the holy grail of "personalized medicine''.

Coffee Break and Networking in Exhibition Hall

CRAM: A Framework for Sequence Data Compression
Guy Cochrane, Team Leader, European Bioinformatics Institute, United Kingdom

In the talk, I will detail the needs for compression of raw NGS data and will describe the CRAM concept for serving these needs. Finally, I will outline approaches that apply compression differentially across the growing body of NGS data.

The Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine at Kingston University, London
Lori Snyder, Reader, Kingston University, United Kingdom

The Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine is an affordable platform, which has enabled researchers and educators at Kingston University to access cutting edge NGS technology.

Technology Spotlight:
Optimising Efficiency in a High-throughput Service Lab – Automation Solutions
Niels Kruize, Sales Director, LGC Genomics

Running a high-throughput genotyping and nucleic acid preparation service laboratory provides our instrumentation development team with a unique insight to the challenges faced by our customers in their own operations. The development of the LGC Genomics/KBioscience range of laboratory instrumentation has always been driven by innovations required to improve efficiency in our own laboratories and the presentation at this year’s ELA focuses on some of the key developments we have initiated in the areas of high-throughput MTP replication, DNA extraction, assay dispensing and liquid handling and high throughput water bath thermal cycling for PCR. The presentation includes videos, animations and graphical representations of our laboratory automation solutions, their development and overviews of the workflow solutions we have developed to optimise throughput in singleplex genotyping projects and the flexibility offered through this approach to data set generation.

Lunch and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Poster Viewing Session

Ion Torrent PGM Sequencer in Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis
Marzanna Gontarczyk, , University of Zurich, Switzerland

The Ion Torrent PGM semiconductor-based platform is the first commercially available non-optical sequencing technology. Some of the sequencing applications in genome and transcriptome analysis are presented.

Technologies Development for High-throughput Immune Sequencing
Francois Vigneault, Post doctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School, United States of America

We discuss the technology of Immune Sequencing and applications as well as future developments.

Coffee Break and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Integration of Next Gen Sequencing in a Genomics Core
Patrick Descombes, Head, Nestle Institute of Health Sciences, Switzerland

The presentation will address the revolution introduced by NGS technologies, its complementarities to other genomics technologies, and some of the consequences for Core labs, such as the need to implement LIMS and robotics.

Insights in shRNA Processing and siRNA Mode of Action Using Next Generation Sequencing
Sterghios Moschos, Director, University of Westminster, United Kingdom

This talk will discuss a new application of NGS in proving the mode of action and relative activity of RNAi therapeutics. Opportunities in companion diagnostic development will be presented alongside novel data on the processsivity and precision of key enzymes involved in RNAi.

Drinks Reception

Next Generation Sequencing for Defence Applications
Amber Murch, Research Scientist, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, United Kingdom

The Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) is an integral part of the UK Ministry of Defence. Since 2009 DSTL has been actively evaluating next generation sequencing platforms to provide the UK MoD with a high confidence biological agent identification capability.

MicroRNA, Deep Sequencing and Renal Cell Carcinoma
Huiqing Wu, Assistant Professor, City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, United States of America

(1) Using Formalin-fixed Paraffin embedded human tissue for whole genome small deep sequencing; (2) Finding a group of small non-coding RNAs (fragmented rRNA, tRNA, snRNA, snoRNA, Mt-tRNA, intron, exon, etc.) to be differentiated in renal cell carcinoma and its metastatic tumor by deep sequencing.

Diagnostic Applications of Next Generation Sequencing
Graham Taylor, Professor, Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, United Kingdom

NGS can do more than genome-scale sequencing, it can be turned into a highly cost effective diagnostic tool to test for somatic and germline mutations, simplifying workflow, quality management and automating reporting.

Coffee Break and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Application of Next Generation Sequencing in Human Disease Research in the Multi-Omics Era
Sujie Cao, Region Project Director, BGI Europe at BGI EuropeDenmark, Denmark

The tremendous advances development in next generation sequencing technologies has brought a new era for human diseases research. The NGS platform in combination with bioinformatics allow genome-wide identification of a full range of somatic mutations, including SNPs, Indels, SV, CNV and other genomic rearrangements related to human disease. We also leverage the full spectrum of multi-omics technologies to find answers to the questions that impact human health.

Technology Spotlight:
NGS Sample Preparation at EMBL GeneCore
Jurgen Zimmermann, Senior Technical Officer Automation, European Molecular Biology Laboratory

Overview about laboratory workflows and automation strategies in a NGS core facility focussing on liquid handling devices.

Lunch and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Poster Viewing Session

Nanoscience, Single Molecules and Genome Sequencing
Kalim Mir, Visiting Scholar, University of Oxford, United Kingdom

Each of our chromosomes prior to replication comprises a single length of DNA. I will describe our work on using nanoscience and single molecule technology for extracting DNA sequence information in its long-range context from individual chromosomes and wholegenomes. 

Nanopore-based DNA Sequencing
Slaven Garaj, Research Associate, Harvard University, United States of America

The nanopore-based sequencing scheme comprises a 4th-generation DNA sequencing methods promising significant cost reduction, increase in read length, versatility and accuracy. We will give a general overview of the methods and the current state of the technology, with a special focus on solid-state and graphene nanopores.

Coffee Break and Networking in Exhibition Hall

Close of Conference