State-of-the art genomic sequencer accelerates inflammation research

Hudson Institute of Medical Research is progressing its genomic and inflammation research thanks to the support of the Victorian Government and The Ian Potter Foundation, who assisted with the acquisition of an Illumina NextSeq2000, a new sequencing system that provides unprecedented genomic capacity to study inflammatory diseases and microbial diversity.

The machine is only the third of its kind in Victoria, and the first in the Monash precinct. It will be located in the Gandel Genomics Centre at Hudson Institute, where it will be used by scientists to accelerate critical inflammation research by supporting both single-cell and complex tissue gene expression studies, whole-exome sequencing to identify genetic variants and microbiome metagenomics in patients with chronic and debilitating inflammatory diseases.

Dr Sam Forster leads the Microbiota and Systems Biology Laboratory at Hudson Institute – his team is developing new treatments for inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), by targeting health-associated bacteria in the microbiome.

“In terms of capacity, the NextSeq2000 has supercharged our ability to understand how the microbiome can be used to prevent or treat inflammation. We can now measure a patient’s inflammatory response with much higher precision, discover and sequence twice as many new bacterial species in the same amount of time as before, at about the third of the cost. It really does allow us to take the research to the next level,” Dr Forster said.

The Illumina NextSeq2000 was partially funded by the Victorian Government and The Ian Potter Foundation.

Director and CEO Professor Elizabeth Hartland said, “The Victorian Government’s investment in the NextSeq2000 for Hudson Institute will allow us to accelerate our microbiome research so Victorian patients with inflammatory conditions, like IBD, can be helped sooner rather than later.