Genomics Core Facility

The ability to sequence DNA and to detect the expression thousands of genes in parallel has become a mainstay of 21st century biology. Within the Genomics Core, DNA sequencing supports research across the campus and extends to projects in collaboration with other institutions, including the sequencing of genomes, RNASeq, ChIPSeq, methylSeq, metagenomics and other applications. Such knowledge permits scientists to translate basic research into meaningful insight concerning challenges facing society such as food availability, diseases and sustainable resources. Our facility operates cutting edge Illumina sequencers to support these many research areas. In addition, IIGB is part of a consortium with other UC campuses that share expertise to benefit UC researchers. Within the Core, gene arrays and qPCR permit the monitoring of genes within an organism. Understanding changes that cells undergo during growth or as a result of pathogens often demands highly specialized instrumentation.

The Institute maintains such equipment as well as expertise in their operation and assistance in experimental design. Instrumentation and services are supported by in-depth hands-on training with our specialists who encourage collaborative research within UC Riverside and with external researchers interested in drawing on our expertise for their own research. Such training includes workshops in quantitative real-time PCR and Illumina sample prep as well as events designed to keep UC researchers abreast of the latest technologies.

Another approach embraced at the IIGB is chemical genomics. This is a field at the intersection of chemistry and biology that focuses on the screening of thousands of drug-like chemicals on living organisms using robotic instrumentation for highly automated handling of chemicals and biological samples. Currently, IIGB houses fluid robotics (Microscopy and Genomics Cores), chemical database tools (Bioinformatics Core) and expertise in biological screening of chemicals.