Center for Genome Innovation
UConn Provost Mun Choi and Vice-President for Research Jeff Seemann are pleased
to announce the establishment of the Center for Genome Innovation (CGI) within
the Institute for Systems Genomics. Rachel O’Neill, Professor of Molecular and Cell
Biology, will serve as the CGI Director. To support the CGI’s mission to provide stateof-the-art expertise in genome technologies, UConn has acquired 4 new Next
Generation Sequencing (NGS) instruments (2 Illumina NextSeq 500 and 2 Illumina
MiSeq sequencers) and microfluidics platforms for single cell genomic analysis. In
addition to the new sequencing instruments that will be located on both the Storrs
and Farmington campuses, the CGI’s infrastructure will serve as a nexus for
bioinformatics and computational support and incorporate instrumentation
previously included within the Center for Applied Genetics and Technology: ABI
Genetic Analyzer Capillary Electrophoresis Sequencer; BioRad CFX96 Real-Time
PCR machine; Affymetrix Gene Atlas System; Affymetrix Gene Chip System; ABI
SOLiD 5500XL Sequencer; and, Roche 454 GS FLX+. Craig Nelson, Associate
Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology will supervise the CGI’s microfluidics facility
equipped with the Fluidigm C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep, BioMark HD and Access Array
systems. This initial $1.2M investment for the CGI within the Institute for Systems
Genomics will facilitate genomics research for faculty and students across the
University of Connecticut campuses. Support for these technologies will be in the
form of experienced user access, hands-on assistance, training and/or consultation
through the CGI.