Award to help advance genetics studies

Population Genetics Technologies Ltd, specialists in genetic analyses and biomarker discovery, has launched the Populus Award 2012. Open to researchers undertaking a range of population genetics studies, successful applicants will be provided with funding and practical support for their sequencing studies along with access to the expertise and proprietary technologies provided by the company. Other applicants will also have the chance to benefit from the award, receiving collaborative advice and input from the experts at the company.

Dr. Frank Massam, Chief Commercial Officer, Population Genetics, commented: “The Populus Award 2012 provides an ideal opportunity for a research group with limited funds or experience to gain access to the latest technological and practical expertise in the field. Using our proprietary approaches and funding support, we will enable them to accurately sequence either genomic regions of interest or indeed, whole genes in large populations of samples, providing the next leap in sequencing analysis.”

Winners will be able to sequence their samples using the NGS platform of their choice to achieve molecular tagging system sequencing of either multiple non-contiguous or long, contiguous regions from many thousands of samples, in a single experiment. This allows researchers to confidently identify genetic variants attributed to a specific phenotype. Such high quality data is significantly valuable in areas such as human healthcare, as it mediates the rapid discovery of gene variants characteristic of a particular disorder or a specific drug response, facilitating the development of informed, personalised treatment strategies.

Applications must be submitted online by the 30th of November 2012. The successful applicant will be announced in January 2013.

For further information, or to submit an application, email collaborations@populationgenetics.com