Dr. Danny Miller: 'A rising tide lifts all boats, and the advances resulting from long read are applicable across multiple laboratories and institutions.'
[Editor’s note: Registration and requests for submitting abstracts for oral presentations at the October 28 long-read sequencing symposium at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute are now open; visit https://redcap.iths.org/surveys/?s=NM7XRTTWFF7AHM77]
Why are you and BBI convening another symposium on long-read sequencing?
The biggest reason is the overwhelmingly positive response and engagement among scientists and researchers from last year’s symposium. The interest in long-read sequencing clearly is growing throughout the Seattle area.
There are more than three months before the event on October 28th. Do you have any conformed speakers?
Yes, Doctors Chia-Lin Wei of the Northwest Genomics Center; Evan Eichler of the UW, Department of Genome Sciences; Scott Furlan of Seattle Children’s Hospital; and Mitchell Vollger, a post-doctoral fellow at the UW. We expect to confirm the symposium sponsor and additional speakers over the next few weeks, which will include scientists from Pacific Northwest Research Institute and the Fred Hutch Cancer Center.
What are your hopes and expectations for the symposium?
My hopes and expectations center on giving people new to long-read sequencing opportunities to gain information and insights, and to make and build connections with experts that either drive their projects forward, or get new projects started. In addition, for those already familiar with long-read, I hope they will expand their knowledge and understanding.
A rising tide lifts all boats, and the advances resulting from long read are applicable across multiple laboratories and institutions. I hope this symposium will move everybody forward. That’s why we put time and effort into it.
Will this symposium become an annual event?
It is clear there is enough interest in long-read throughout the Seattle area that this should be an annual event. I encourage researchers who do not use this technology on a daily basis to attend, as it’s a great opportunity to meet people, talk about one’s science, and learn how long-read can be used in clinical and research settings.
