Featuring Briana Benton
Show Notes:
In this episode, Briana Benton presents the ATCC Genome Portal, which was launched in 2019 to offer researchers high-quality, traceable genome data directly associated with physical materials in the ATCC collection. Benton explained that each genome published on the portal is produced entirely in-house, adhering to ISO 9001 standards from strain cultivation to final genome assembly. With over 5,500 genomes currently available and new additions made quarterly, the portal aims to eventually encompass ATCC’s entire collection. The portal’s distinctive value lies in its unparalleled traceability, including documentation of storage conditions and equipment used, which ensures scientific reproducibility and reliability. While the portal does not provide analytical tools, Benton emphasized that ATCC’s mission is to supply authenticated, reproducible data, enabling researchers to utilize their preferred tools for analysis.
Guest:
Briana Benton, BS
Technical Manager, ATCC
Briana Benton is a Program Manager for ATCC’s Sequencing and Bioinformatics department. Her current focus is on the ATCC Genome Portal and expanding the collection of published reference genomes. Briana previously worked on the development of mock microbial communities for microbiome research and synthetic molecular standards for molecular diagnostics assays. Prior to joining ATCC, she developed molecular diagnostic assays for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.
Host:
David Yarmosh, MS
Lead Bioinformatician, ATCC
David Yarmosh is a lead bioinformatician in ATCC’s Sequencing and Bioinformatics Center. He’s a graduate of New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. He has been working in large data aggregation and analysis since 2013 and microbial genomics with a focus on biosurveillance R&D efforts since 2016. David has led international training exercises in Peru and Senegal, sharing metagenomic analytical capabilities. His interests include genomics database construction, metadata collection, drug resistance mechanisms, bioinformatics standards, and machine learning. Since joining ATCC in 2020, David has worked extensively in SARS-CoV-2 classification, epidemiology, and genomics evaluation, including enhanced and uniform variant reporting. He has contributed more broadly to genomics reporting and analytical standardization and he has helped develop the podcast Behind the Biology, which he now hosts.
