The University of Minnesota Genomics Center (UMGC) and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI) invite you to join us for a day of presentations, tutorials, and project consultations in SMed on the Duluth campus. Meet with staff for project support and learn more about the genomic and informatic resources available to UMN researchers.

The UMN Genomics Center is excited to kick off its Spring 2023 Pilot Sequencing Program. To help UMN investigators generate preliminary data, the UMGC has partnered with Illumina to subsidize sequencing pilot projects, and also 10X Genomics to support single-cell pilot projects. Pilot projects can be for any NGS application on our website that uses 400 million reads of sequencing or less.

For this meeting, NanoString will take a technical deep dive into the similarities and differences between the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler and CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager. Dr. Jerid Robinson, Field Application Scientist, will discuss sample prep, data analysis, GeoMx and CosMx comparison, and how to optimize your experimental design.

Join Illumina for office hours on Monday, January 30th, from 10am – 2pm in CCRB lunchroom atrium. Schedule some time with Illumina experts to discuss how we can support your genomics project whether you are new to next-generation sequencing, or have questions on any step in the workflow from library preparation, to sequencing, or data analysis. We are available to help further your research with the power of the genome. 

From large-scale sample acquisition and processing, to fragile or dying cells that are easily damaged during handling, many ambitious Single cell studies face frustrating logistical issues. Fixed RNA Profiling was developed to overcome these challenges, allowing you to preserve biology at the point of collection. In our upcoming seminar, we’re focusing on sample prep for this new assay.

Singular Genomics will present the capabilities of the new G4 sequencing instrument to the UMN research community, and the latest data on a wide variety of research applications like RNA-Seq and Single Cell RNA-Seq. The G4 is an innovative benchtop sequencing platform with novel, high-performance chemistry, and advanced engineering optimized for speed and flexibility.

Niedernhofer Lab (iBAM) will present on how cellular senescence is implicated in the accumulation of fibrosis and progressive liver dysfunction with aging and disease. To characterize liver senescence in normal and diseased liver, they compared two spatial transcriptomics platforms, Nanostring GeoMx and 10X Genomics Visium.

The UMGC Innovation Lab, in collaboration with the Biosensing and Biorobotics Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has developed an automated microinjection robot for Drosophila embryos that has the potential to dramatically increase the scale at which microinjection can be performed.

It’s back! After a three-year hiatus, the UMGC is bringing the genomics research community back together to celebrate our 10th annual GenoFest. This event provides updates on emerging trends in genomics technologies, future plans for our core facility, and application solutions for UMN researchers. Join us on Friday, October 7th, for a combination of UMGC presentations, technology presentations, lunch, a genomics resource fair, and networking opportunities.

The UMN Genomics Center will permanently close our 1-202 Nils Hasselmo Hall (NHH) lab on Friday, September 2nd, at 5:00 p.m., and this site will no longer be staffed for processing samples, managing sample drop-off, and hosting self-service instruments.

For close to two decades, the UMGC has provided on-campus Sanger sequencing services to the UMN research community. Though Sanger sequencing continues to have an essential place in life science research, we have decided that we will cease providing an on-campus service on or around July 1, 2022, as Sanger sequencing is now best served by outsourcing to a commercial provider. 

The UMGC is planning a “Spring Cleaning” week from May 16-20, during which the entire UMGC will be re-tasked with re-organization and maintenance. During this week, we will not be processing samples, except for time-sensitive clinical (CLIA) sequencing.

Congratulations to Dr. Daryl Gohl, PI for the UMGC Innovation Lab, and UMGC scientists, on their publication in G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, a peer-reviewed journal on high-quality foundational research. Their publication was selected for the cover image of the February 2022 issue.

The UMGC continues to partner with the Met Council to monitor COVID-19 by testing wastewater in the Twin Cities. Recent data shows the highest viral concentrations observed during the pandemic with omicron representing over 70% of the strains by Dec. 30.