Technology Platforms
The technology platforms at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre are staffed by teams of professional scientists with expertise in several areas of genomics research. These teams support researchers and collaborators in BC and around the world in work addressing topical questions in the life sciences.
The bioinformatics group at the GSC participates in a diverse number of areas on computational genomic analysis such as expression profiling, gene regulation, comparative genomics analysis, genome assembly, and laboratory information management. The platform has nearly 60 computational biologists, software programmers, and informatics specialists working with all GSC activity areas to provide data analysis and management solutions. The development of data analysis tools for high-throughput sequencing is a major focus of the bioinformatics group, with key projects and publications already in place. 
High-throughput large-scale DNA analysis facility designed to maximize capacity while maintaining efficiency, scalability and flexibility. The platform is the largest platform of its type in Canada and is well recognized internationally. The GSC recently acquired 10 SOLiDTM 4 Systems from Life Technologies. Sequencing capabilities include fragment, mate-pair and paired end approaches, with instrument runs capable of yielding more than 60Gbps of sequence data. Library construction for whole genome sequencing, as well as bar coding for multiplex sequencing, will be available. |
The GSC currently has 14 Illumina Genome Analyzer IIx systems. Sequencing capabilities include both single-end sequencing (50 and 75bp read lengths) and pair-end sequencing (50, 75 and 100bp read lengths). Library construction for Illumina sequencing is available for whole genome, transcriptome (RNA-seq), exome, microRNA, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), as well as for “bar coding” of samples for multiplex sequencing. The GSC has to date constructed nearly 2,000 libraries and generated over 5 trillion base pairs of data on the Illumina Genome Analyzer, contributing to many projects and publications. 
The Proteomics group at the GSC performs protein and post-translational modification identification on protein samples using high pressure liquid chromatography coupled to nano-electrospray mass spectrometry. Current applications include protein-protein interaction mapping, and protein phosphorylation site detection and quantitation. 
The drug discovery platform performs high-throughput virtual screening using leading molecular docking software and high performance computing resources to find novel therapeutics for human diseases. |
Major funding for the Genomics Platform is provided by the Government of Canada through Genome Canada. Funding from Genome Canada flows through Genome BC, which also provides support to the Platform.