Sequencing and data analysis at UC Riverside Centralizing Sequencing and Bioinformatics Services: Analysis Pipelines, Opportunities and Challenges with Large-scale-Omics, and other BigData

The Institute for Integrative Genome Biology (IIGB), at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), provides sequencing services and access to data analysis and programming expertise. The Genomics and Bioinformatics... [ view full abstract ]

The Institute for Integrative Genome Biology (IIGB), at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), provides sequencing services and access to data analysis and programming expertise. The Genomics and Bioinformatics facilities at UCR are part of IIGB. In addition to serving scientists at UCR, we offer services to external institutes and industry as well. Services include sequencing of genomes, and analysis of RNASeq, ChIPseq, methylseq, and metagenomics data. Our facilities operate cutting edge sequencing technologies including Illumina and PacBio, and support many research areas. IIGB is part of a consortium with many other UCR campuses that share expertise to benefit UC researchers.

Within the Genomics Core, custom and commercial gene arrays also permit the monitoring of thousands of genes within an organism. Understanding changes that cells undergo during growth or as a result of pathogens often demands highly specialized instrumentation, such as automated cell sorters. The Institute maintains such equipment as well as expertise in their operation and assistance in experimental design. Instrumentation and services are supported by in-depth hands-on training with our specialists who encourage collaborative research within UC Riverside and with external researchers interested in drawing on our expertise for their own research. Such training includes workshops in quantitative real-time PCR and Illumina samples prep as well as events designed to keep UC researchers abreast of the latest technologies.

The bioinformatics core facility offers custom data analysis and consultation services for bioinformatics projects. We provide solutions for managing, visualizing, analyzing, and interpreting genomic data, including studies of gene expression (RNA-Seq), pathway analysis, protein-DNA binding (ChIP-Seq), DNA methylation, Variant analysis using high throughput platforms. We identify opportunities and implement research collaborations, make available findings through presentations, and contribute to scientific publications. We also provide hands-on training and workshops on a wide variety of informatics topics. We also support outreach and education in the form of seminars, workshops, and training series.