Abstract
Advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and computational tools have revolutionized bacterial genomics and microbiome research in tremendous ways, opening applications in the areas of diagnostics, therapeutics, and environmental sciences. Despite the promise of these technologies, the analysis of metagenomic data remains challenging due to the technical biases that are introduced during sample preparation, nucleic acid extraction, quantification, library preparation, sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis. Thus, there is a strong need to validate each stage of the workflow to ensure that metagenomic data are reliable and reproducible. To address these challenges, ATCC developed genomic and whole cell mock microbial communities from fully sequenced and characterized ATCC strains that represent species found in various body sites. In addition, to help promote assay standardization and validation, ATCC developed innovative spike-in standards for absolute quantitation of microbiome content. Join our presentation to learn about the application of these standards in metagenomic analyses.
*This Industry & Science Showcase was a promotional activity and was not approved for continuing education credit. The content of this presentation and opinions expressed by presenters are those of the organizer or presenters and not of ASM.
Presenter
Leka Papazisi, DVM, PhD
Principal Scientist, Microbiology R&D, Product Life Cycle, ATCC
Dr. Papazisi joined ATCC in 2019. His main responsibility is product development, from asset inception through lifecycle management. While at ATCC, Dr. Papazisi led the Microbiology R&D team in developing several new products, including a proprietary nucleic acid storage buffer formulation and various diagnostics control materials. In addition to technical leadership, his responsibilities include talent management, new product innovation, and management of internal and external cross-functional activities. Before joining ATCC, Dr. Papazisi worked for OpGen (2018-2019), Canon U.S. Life Sciences (2011-2018), and J. Craig Venter Institute (2003-2011). At OpGen, he directed the implementation of an antimicrobial-resistance surveillance system for the state of New York. While at Canon US Life Sciences, his main responsibility was the development of PCR-based assays and assay controls for detecting human inherited diseases and infectious agents—launching with his team ca. 700 products. At the JCVI, Dr. Papazisi led a variety of comparative genomic projects of several biothreat agents. During his academic career at the U. of Connecticut and Vet Med U. of Vienna, Dr. Papazisi studied genomics, virulence factors, and vaccine design for mycoplasmas as well as molecular profiling of Salmonella.
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