Our Resources
The Genomic Sequencing and Analysis Facility at the University of Texas at Austin is located in room 4.102 of the MBB building, which houses the ICMB. We perform next-gen sequencing and microarray studies for UT researchers from any department and from external research entities, both public and private. We are supported by UT's Texas Institute for Drug & Diagnostic Development and the Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology.
In approximately 2,000 square feet of controlled-access laboratory space, our facility currently includes:
- One ABI SOLiD next-generation DNA sequencer (Version 4.0) and associated peripherals. The SOLiD will generate over 80 gigabases of short-read DNA sequence in a five-day period. We can analyze several samples at nearly single-base resolution, or many dozens of samples at lower resolution, as the project may dictate. We expect an upgrade to the new 5500XL in June, 2010
- One Roche 454 next-generation DNA sequencer (FLX with Titanium chemistry) and associated peripherals. The 454 FLX can generate over one million DNA sequences per day, with an average read length of over 400 base-pairs. As with the SOLiD, we can analyze one sample to great depth, or many samples in parallel to a lower depth.
- Capability for processing Nimblegen, Agilent, and internally-created DNA microarrays for analysis of both DNA and RNA molecular populations by hybridization and one- or two-color fluorescent scanning. At the heart of this operation, we currently operate one Genepix 4000B scanner with 5 micron resolution and 16 bits of color.
- All required peripheral equipment for isolation, QC, and preparation of nucleic acid samples (both DNA and RNA) for the above-mentioned applications.
- Informatic tools and hardware sufficient for analysis of next-generation DNA sequencing data, including:
- A 4-node Dell compute cluster and 11 TB RAID 5 disk space provided with the ABI SOliD
- A Dell PowerEdge R900 server with four, quad-core E7340 Xeon, 2.4GHz processors (16 cores total), 1066Mhz FSB, 64 GB memory, and 5.6 TB RAID-6 disk space, with BWA, Bowtie, Shrimp, SOAP, and mapreads aligners, NCBI BLAST, and R/Bioconductor, and several de novo assemblers, sequence editors, and genome browsers.
Our People
Director: Scott Hunicke-Smith, Ph.D.
(512) 232-5924
MBB 2.406
scotth@mail.utexas.edu
Dr. Hunicke-Smith joined UT Austin in August of 2008 to start next-generation sequencing activities at UT. Prior to joining UT, he was VP and General Manager of the molecular biology Services’ division of Asuragen, a spin-out of Ambion. He joined in Ambion in July of 2003 as Director of Business Development, Instrumentation. He was promoted to Vice President, Business Development in March of 2004 and to Vice President, Ambion Services in September of 2005. Prior to joining Ambion, Dr. Hunicke-Smith served as founder and CEO of GeneMachines, a molecular biology equipment firm, from 1997 through March of 2003. Dr. Hunicke-Smith also served on the Board of Directors of Silicon Genetics, a bioinformatics software firm, from 1998 until Agilent acquired it in 2004. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in the laboratory of Ron Davis in 1997 and is an inventor on seven issued patents.
Title: Bioinformatician
(512) 471-7138
MBB 2.404
darasappan@mail.utexas.edu
Dhivya joined the GSAF team in April 2008 and primarily deals with analysis of Next-gen sequencing data. Prior to joining UT, she was working at the National Center of Toxicological Research, FDA. At FDA, she was involved in analysis of gene expression data. She has a Masters in Bioinformatics from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelors in computer science from Anna University, India.
Title: Laboratory Manager
(512) 475-9725
MBB 4.102
jessicawheeler24@gmail.com
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Heather Deiderick
Title: Post-doctoral researcher
(512) 475-9725
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Heather Jefts
Title: Lab Research Assistant
(512) 475-9725
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Jillian DeBlanc
Title: Lab Research Assistant
(512) 475-9725
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Melanie Weiler
Title: Undergraduate Research Assistant, Laboratory
(512) 475-9725
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Joe Cruz
Title: Undergraduate Research Assistant, Bioinformatics
(512) 475-9725
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