Workshop on November 6 will discuss real datasets to examine best practices and state-of-the-art approaches for: 1) detecting and quantifying genomic variants, including single-nucleotide variants, large structural and copy number variants, and modifications, and 2) single-cell transcriptome analysis.

As sequencing costs continue to decline, library preparation is becoming the rate-limiting step for many research projects. To help investigators maximize budgets, the UMGC CoLab now offers hands-on instruction in RNA-Seq and DNA-Seq library construction. 

GenoFest will feature presentations from leaders in the field, updates on the latest sequencing and multi-omic platforms, tours of the UMGC and CoLab, posters, exhibitor tables, and opportunities to connect with fellow researchers.

Launched last spring, it was designed to provide lab space for researchers to receive training and access specialized instrumentation. UMGC expects continued growth this fall with a new CoLab iteration featuring more instrumentation, expanded capabilities, and a tiered membership model.

Parse will provide 10,000 free reads per cell for 100K or 1M cell experiments, by providing one free Element AVITI run (1B reads) with a purchase of a 100K-cell Evercode WT kit, or one free Ultima UG 100 run (10B reads) with a purchase of a 1M-cell Evercode WT Mega kit.

This symposium will feature presentations from UMN experts specializing in immunology, pulmonary biology, and neuroscience; updates on emerging informatics strategies and single-cell platforms; and a guided tour of the UMGC CoLab facility, which provides training resources in single-cell workflows.

In order to see if sequencing results were comparable to those achieved by Illumina sequencers, the UMGC sequenced samples from multiple RNA-seq projects on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 and the UG 100 for comparison.

The UMN Spatialomics Initiative is a new coordinated effort that aims to accelerate spatialomic research by bringing together all relevant technical expertise in a single virtual location. The collection of resources on this new website will help researchers probe spatial interactions at the level of genomics and proteomics.

The increased adoption of the Element AVITI sequencers has allowed us to secure AVITI reagents at steeper discounts, enabling us to pass along further cost reductions in an end-of-year price drop—just in time for the holidays! Building on the ≈ 40% price reductions announced in July, AVITI sequencing costs have now decreased by an additional 20%, on average.

To assess comparability with Illumina sequencers, the UMGC performed 16S V4V5 amplicon sequencing on both the Illumina NextSeq 2000 and the Element AVITI. The primary objective was determining whether transitioning from the NextSeq platform to the AVITI would produce equivalent results.

A suite of AVITI sequencing systems is available at the UMGC, giving researchers expanded options for short-read, mid-throughput sequencing. The aim of this study was to evaluate quality metrics and gene expression counts for identical RNA-Seq samples sequenced using the AVITI and NovaSeq X Plus platforms.

The UMGC welcomes a new addition to its sequencing portfolio with the installation of the new AVITI24 system. Researchers will now have a new option for performing on flow cell multiomics on cells. The UMGC is the first site in the world to upgrade to the AVITI24.

The UMGC is one of the first academic sites in the world to install the UG 100 by Ultima Genomics. The UG 100 represents a reinvention of NGS chemistry and hardware. Currently carrying out pilot runs and training on the device, the UMGC will roll out its UG 100 sequencing service on January 2, 2025.

The UMGC has recently acquired three additional AVITI sequencers from Element Biosciences. With this expansion to five instruments, the UMGC currently has installed the largest academic fleet of AVITIs in the United States. With these new instruments, the UMGC is able to reduce AVITI run prices by 50% on average, by leveraging reagent discounts associated with a larger fleet.