ADVANCED SEQUENCING
TECHNOLOGIES & APPLICATIONS
November 8 - 21, 2011
Application Deadline: July 15, 2011

Instructors:
Elaine Mardis, Washington University School of Medicine
Gabor Marth, Boston College
W. Richard McCombie, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Aaron Quinlan, University of Virginia
Michael Zody, The Broad Institute

Over the last decade, large scale DNA sequencing has markedly impacted the practice of modern biology and is beginning to effect the practice of medicine. With the recent introduction of several advanced sequencing technologies, costs and timelines have been reduced by orders of magnitude, facilitating investigators to conceptualize and perform sequencing-based projects that heretofore were prohibitive. Furthermore, the application of these technologies to answer questions previously not experimentally approachable is broadening their impact and application.

This intensive 2 week course will explore applications of next generation sequencing technologies, with a focus on commercially available methods. Students will be instructed in the detailed operation of several revolutionary sequencing platforms, including sample preparation procedures, general data handling through pipelines, and in-depth data analysis. A diverse range of biological questions will be explored including DNA re-sequencing of human genomic regions (using cancer samples as a test case), de novo DNA sequencing of bacterial genomes, and the use of these technologies in studying small RNAs, among others. Guest lecturers will highlight their own applications of these revolutionary technologies.

We encourage applicants from a diversity of scientific backgrounds including molecular evolution, development, neuroscience, cancer, plant biology and microbiology.

Speakers in 2009 included:
Florent Angly, San Diego State University
James Brayer, Rain Dance Technologies, Inc.
Peter Cooper, NCBI/NLM
David Dooling, Washington University School of Medicine
Evan Eichler, University of Washington
Andreas Gnirke, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Christopher Maher, University of Michigan
Tarjei Mikkelsen, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Bert Overduin, European Bioinformatics Institute, UK
Alexander Robertson, Life Technologies, Inc.
Carsten Russ, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Gary Schroth, Illumina, Inc.
Jeremy Stuart, Life Technologies, Inc.
Steve Turner, Pacific Biosciences, Inc.

Sponsored by Applied Biosystems, Illumina and 454 Life Sciences