MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc., (Nasdaq:PACB) a pioneer and leader in long-read sequencing using its Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) technology, today announced more than 40 presentations at the upcoming Advances in Genome Biology & Technology (AGBT) conference will feature the use of SMRT Sequencing for human biomedical research and other important applications.
The company’s workshop, titled “Revealing the Unknowns in Medical Research with Long-Read SMRT Sequencing,” will be co-hosted by Pacific Biosciences and Roche Sequencing and include some of the most recent advances in SMRT Sequencing. It will feature presentations from Euan Ashley of Stanford University, Robert Sebra from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Ben Murrell at the University of California, San Diego, and Ulf Gyllensten of Uppsala University, Sweden. Interested individuals who are not attending AGBT this year can register to watch a live stream of the event via the PacBio website.
Early data from the company’s new Sequel™ System will be presented by Jonas Korlach, Ph.D., PacBio’s Chief Scientific Officer, in a talk in the AGBT plenary session on Saturday afternoon titled “Addressing Complex Diseases and Hidden Heritability with the Sequel System.” Customers presenting data from a variety of projects employing SMRT Sequencing include a talk from the National Center for Biotechnology Information on evolving approaches to improve reference genome assemblies, a presentation from the Washington University School of Medicine on the first African reference genome assembly, and a talk from the University of Washington on long-read sequence assembly of the gorilla genome.
“This year, more than ever before, we will see the role SMRT Sequencing is beginning to have in precision medicine, as well as a vision of what’s to come using our latest instrument, the Sequel System,” said Michael Hunkapiller, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Pacific Biosciences. “As evidenced by presentations at this year’s AGBT meeting, scientists are recognizing the importance of characterizing genetic variation beyond just SNPs, and they can obtain the full spectrum of genetic variation within a single experiment using SMRT Sequencing. The new Sequel System will make SMRT Sequencing more affordable and therefore accessible to a broader range of scientists.”
The 2016 AGBT General Meeting will take place in Orlando, Florida, from February 10-13. More information is available at: www.pacb.com/agbt.
About Pacific Biosciences
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) offers sequencing systems to help scientists resolve genetically complex problems. Based on its novel Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) technology, Pacific Biosciences’ products enable: de novo genome assembly to finish genomes in order to more fully identify, annotate and decipher genomic structures; full-length transcript analysis to improve annotations in reference genomes, characterize alternatively spliced isoforms in important gene families, and find novel genes; targeted sequencing to more comprehensively characterize genetic variations; and real-time kinetic information for epigenome characterization. Pacific Biosciences’ technology provides high accuracy, ultra-long reads, uniform coverage, and is the only DNA sequencing technology that provides the ability to simultaneously detect epigenetic changes. PacBio® sequencing systems, including consumables and software, provide a simple, fast, end-to-end workflow for SMRT Sequencing. More information is available at www.pacb.com.
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