Automated Liquid Handler

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7. PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposal requests funds for purchase of a US-manufactured Hamilton NGS STAR liquid handling platform, including installation, training, and a 12-month warranty from Hamilton Company, Reno, NV. Institutional support is to help defray purchasing cost and to cover facility costs, personnel salaries, and the service contract for the lifetime of the instrument. The system will be housed with our existing next generation sequencing instrumentation including the Illumina NovaSeq 6000, Illumina NextSeq 500, two Illumina MiSeq platforms, 10xGenomics Chromium Controller, and GenapSys sequencing platforms in the National Cancer Institute (NCI)- designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) fee-for-service MetaOmics Shared Resource core facility at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) in central Philadelphia. The Hamliton NGS STAR will enable next-generation sequencing demands at TJU, including the SKCC and its regional consortium partner Drexel University. Founded in 2006, the MetaOmics Shared Resource has been instrumental in promoting genomics research by facilitating hundreds of research projects utilizing a wide variety of experimental systems. The MetaOmics Shared Resource initially offered high-throughput sequencing using two Life Technologies/Applied Biosystems 5500xl Genetic Analyzers and two Ion Torrent PGM instruments, which were replaced by Illumina systems including the NovaSeq 6000, offering the highest throughput of any commercially available sequencing instrument. The NovaSeq 6000, acquired through an S10 grant in 2021, would greatly benefit from automated sample handling for optimal operation. Availability of these platforms has spurred an increase in sequencing demand that exceeds our manual handling capabilities. Acquisition of the Hamilton NGS STAR platform will ensure that laboratories supported by this facility, especially the NIH-funded investigators described herein, as well as young investigators who rely on MetaOmics Shared Resource resources for their first NIH grant proposals, will continue to receive timely and cost-effective service. The Hamilton NGS STAR works in conjunction with Illumina Sequencing Systems to offer higher precision, reproducibility, increased sample capacity, faster turnaround and more cost-effective sequencing. Increased efficiency and cost savings will support and expedite research in genetic diseases, complex traits, and mechanisms of tumorigenesis, metastasis, and therapeutic response. Strengths of this proposal include: support from NCI-designated SKCC and TJU administration; leadership experience and biotechnology expertise of the PI and key personnel; the large-scale infrastructure of the TJU academic, clinical, and innovation pillars; highly productive faculty with innovative research projects. Acquisition of this equipment will have long-lasting impact on biomedical research at TJU.