UConn Provost Mun Choi and Vice-President for Research Jeff Seemann are pleased to announce the establishment of the Center for Genome Innovation (CGI) within the Institute for Systems Genomics. Rachel O’Neill, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, will serve as the CGI Director. To support the CGI’s mission to provide state-of-the-art expertise in genome technologies, UConn has acquired 4 new Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) instruments (2 Illumina NextSeq 500 and 2 Illumina MiSeq sequencers) and microfluidics platforms for single cell genomic analysis. In addition to the new sequencing instruments that will be located on both the Storrs and Farmington campuses, the CGI’s infrastructure will serve as a nexus for bioinformatics and computational support and incorporate instrumentation previously included within the Center for Applied Genetics and Technology: ABI Genetic Analyzer Capillary Electrophoresis Sequencer; BioRad CFX96 Real-Time PCR machine; Affymetrix Gene Atlas System; Affymetrix Gene Chip System; ABI SOLiD 5500XL Sequencer; and, Roche 454 GS FLX+. Craig Nelson, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology will supervise the CGI’s microfluidics facility equipped with the Fluidigm C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep, BioMark HD and Access Array systems. This initial $1.2M investment for the CGI within the Institute for Systems Genomics will facilitate genomics research for faculty and students across the University of Connecticut campuses. Support for these technologies will be in the form of experienced user access, hands-on assistance, training and/or consultation through the CGI.
Thank you,
Marc Lalande
Director, Institute for Systems Genomics