BOSTON, Mass. – May 15, 2012 - BiotechLikemind, the Boston biotech network and idea exchange incubator, announce today that high-throughput DNA sequencing innovator, Nobelgen Biosciences, will join a panel presentation with three of the area’s leading genomic and bioinformatics companies titled, “Genome Sequencing and Analysis – Towards Personalized Medicine” on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at the Space With a Soul conference center, 281 Summer Street in Boston at 7:00 pm. Event detail and registration information is available at http://biotechlikemind.eventbrite.com/.
Frank Feist, CEO and Co-founder of Noblegen Biosciences, Inc. will present an overview of NobleGen’s ‘Optipore’ DNA sequencing platform, which is positioned to deliver highly complex, whole genome sequencing based tests, cost effectively. “Noblegen is the first to take advantage of a highly effective nanopore-based DNA separation method, which incorporates high-speed optical detection,” said Feist. “Our goal is to offer the best cost and performance of any single molecule instrument truly transforming medical prevention, diagnosis and therapy.”
Also presenting will be Nathaniel Pearson, Director of Research at Knome, the human genome interpretation company, on ‘Human genome interpretation...for humans.’ Stated Pearson, “As DNA sequencing costs plummet, several-fold faster than Moore’s law, the challenge of genomics has shifted from generating data, to understanding it. New tools and methods are helping to glean insight from the tide of human whole-genome sequence data, and casting new light on health and key aspects of our evolutionary history.”
John Sheffield, one of the founders of Seven Bridges Genomics, a leader in cost-effective DNA analysis, will present, ‘Rapid innovation in genomics: scaling talent as well as infrastructure.’ “The ‘analysis bottleneck’ and ‘data deluge’ for next-generation sequence analysis is now a familiar problem,” said Sheffield. “Researchers are moving to the cloud for efficiency, but scaling infrastructure is just one dimension of a solution. The deeper challenge is ensuring that informatics pipelines adapt to the rapid pace of change in platforms and analysis best practices.”
John Rachlin, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Diatom Software will speak on ‘CloudPCR for Next Generation Sequencing.’ “Diatom has been involved in a wide range of informatics problems working with biologists, epidemiologists, and IT personnel in academia, government, and industry,” said Rachlin. “Our CloudPCR is specifically designed for Next-Gen Sequencing applications to sift through and compare hundreds of millions of candidate experimental designs, while identifying the very best alternatives and their associated tradeoffs.”
“These companies are in the vanguard of genomic sequencing and healthcare informatics,” said Elmar Nurmemmedov, Harvard Medical School scientist and founder of BiotechLikemind. “We are looking forward to an idea exchange with these pioneers toward the ultimate goal of developing personalized medicine solutions, one of the most exciting areas of bio and healthcare research today.”
About BiotechLikemind
BiotechLikemind is Boston-based biotechnology platform whose mission is to grow a bio-entrepreneurial ecosystem through connecting innovative likeminds from various biotech and biotech-sympathizer sectors. As a part of its mission, BiotechLikemind aims to organize monthly events - each with a specific theme, and online content.
About Noblegen Biosciences
Noblegen Biosciences holds exclusive license to commercialize next generation DNA sequencing technology based on multicolor optical read-out of single molecules fed through solid state nanopore arrays. NobleGen’s proprietary circular DNA conversion process, low tech nanopore array, and optical detection are the basis for a low cost, rapid clinical diagnostic sequencing platform.
About Knome
Knome is a life sciences company that specializes in the interpretation of human genomes. Knome provides tools and solutions that help researchers, drug developers, and clinicians determine the genetic basis of human disease and drug response. In 2008, Knome had the distinction of being the first company to interpret a human whole genome for a commercial client. Since then, Knome has worked on over 100 interpretation projects in more than two dozen countries.
About Seven Bridges Genomics
Seven Bridges Genomics, based in Cambridge, MA and Belgrade, Serbia, has developed a platform designed to enable cost-effective DNA analysis for academic laboratories, health care, and industry groups who are unable to purchase and operate their own high-performance computing solutions. SBG, founded in 2009 by Deniz Kural, Douglas Colton, John Sheffield and Igor Bogicevic, is funded by a group of angel investors.
About Diatom Software
Diatom Software is a bio and healthcare informatics services company developing solutions for government, academic, and industry since its founding in 2010. The company develops scientific software applications, tools, and databases for use by scientists and bioinformatics specialists and offers a broad spectrum of expertise in scientific computing and software development. Working closely with your scientific staff, Diatome Software designs and delivers high-performance computing solutions that improve operational effectiveness, clarify and accelerate decision-making, and solve complex computing challenges.
