We are requesting funds for an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 high throughput sequencing system to expand sequencing capacity at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego). The NovaSeq 6000 will be placed in the Institute for Genomic Medicine (IGM) Genomics Center, a campus-wide core facility managed by the IGM. The IGM Genomics Center is the only core facility at UC San Diego that offers high throughput sequencing. The highly trained staff of the Genomics Center are experienced with genomics technologies and Illumina sequencing and currently operate an Illumina HiSeq2500 and an Illumina HiSeq4000, both of which are running near capacity (90-95%). Since the IGM Genomics Center was established in 2013, we have seen a steady increase in the demand for sequencing capacity driven by the technological advancements in the field and we must expand our current capacity in order to continue to meet demand. The NovaSeq 6000 will dramatically increase the sequencing throughput capabilities of the Center and shorten turnaround time and also significantly reduce the cost of sequencing licensing additional discovery. The IGM Genomics Center supports the genomics research of hundreds of NIH-supported investigators from UC San Diego, as well as neighboring institutions, in the areas of basic, translational, and clinical biomedical research. We have identified 18 Major and Minor Users across the UC San Diego research community, including investigators from the Division of Biological Sciences, the Jacobs School of Engineering, and from multiple departments within the School of Medicine. The projects of our Users encompass the areas of genetics, epigenetics, single cell genomics and metagenomics and all rely on affordable high throughput sequencing technologies to drive discovery. The sequencing data generated on the NovaSeq 6000 will positively impact studies in a variety of disease areas, including neurological diseases, cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease, drug abuse/addiction, obesity and HIV. UC San Diego has demonstrated a strong commitment to the advancement of genomics research and the IGM Genomics Center is determined to continue to provide cutting edge genomics technologies and technical expertise to the local research community. With the support of our institution and our qualified staff, we will ensure that the NovaSeq 6000 will be maintained and used to its full potential.
This proposal seeks funding for the purchase of an Illumina NovaSeq 6000. This instrument is the preeminent instrument on the market for high-throughput sequencing. With this instrument, UC San Diego biomedical scientists will be able to address an array of NIH-funded projects studying a variety of disease-related problems, which are essential for our understanding of disease processes, as well as for development of strategies for disease prevention and therapeutics.
