Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC) Bioinformatics Core

University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta
What the facility does

Next generation sequencing, genomics and bioinformatics methods to analyze and interpret biological data.

Areas of expertise
  • Facilitate generation, storage, analysis, and integration of omics data
    The Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC) has established a bioinformatics core facility for the analysis of the data produced by sequencing facilities at the University of Lethbridge as well as by academic and industry partners.
  • Drive innovation in teaching in the fields of bioinformatics and genomes sciences
    SAGSC creates opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral training and acts as a training venue for a variety of professionals.
  • Offer services, foster collaborations
    SAGSC promotes collaborations between researchers province-wide through its connection to BioNet Alberta. The Centre coordinates the development of research projects to help its members and users attract large-scale funding and forges strategic partnerships with external researchers and stakeholders.
  • Enhance awareness of the importance of genome sciences and omics technologies
    SAGSC strives to disseminate the impact on society of current omics research and applications, promotes STEM through omics-inspired world-class resources and works towards the involvement of underrepresented groups, such as First Nations populations in Southern Alberta, in the knowledge, resources and open dialogue around the uses and applications of genomic technologies.
Research services

The SAGSC Bioinformatics Core offers a suite of services based on the nature of analysis required. SAGSC utilizes bioinformatics analysis for high-throughput sequencing, including 3rd generation long-read sequencing and transcriptomics​.

  • Genomics
    • Whole Genome Sequencing - Variant detection (SNP, indel), copy number variation, structural variation
    • Exome Sequencing – Variant detection (SNP, indel), copy number variation
    • DNA methylation analysis
  • Transcriptomics
    • Gene expression profiling
    • Poly A selection
    • Total RNA analysis
    • Non-coding RNA analysis
    • Variant detection and editing analysis
  • Pre-experiment Consultation
    • Take the guess work out of your experiments, determine the best setup for your experiments by meeting with us before you begin.
    • BioNet/SAGSC Bioinformatics Core staff are pleased to take the time to understand individual project needs and suggest appropriate experimental design in advance of data acquisition.
    • The BioNet/SAGSC Bioinformatics Core staff will aid in writing Bioinformatics aspects of grant proposals, helping to secure funding required for future collaboration and use of this facility. Additionally, the Core staff will write all statistical and bioinformatics methods sections for the protocol of any publication resulting from the analyzed data at our facility.
  • Data Analysis
    • The BioNet/SAGSC Bioinformatics Core offers data analysis and visualization services. These services are additive and designed for those researchers who prefer a hands-off approach to all aspects of bioinformatics from pipeline analysis to graph and figure preparation.
  • Pipeline and Advanced Analysis Development
    • Advanced services that involve the creation of new analysis pipelines for novel projects are available on a case-by-case basis and representatives of the BioNet/SAGSC Bioinformatics Core would be pleased to meet with would-be researchers to discuss such projects.
Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Healthcare and social services
  • Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment

Equipment

Function

High Memory High Performance Computing infrastructure

To meet memory requirements for bioinformatics analysis of publicly available and locally produced sequencing data.

Bio-Rad T100 Thermal Cycler

For the adapter ligation incubation step of some libraries.

S-8-LC DNA/RNA synthesizer

Synthesis of oligonucleotides.

PromethION

Long-range high throughput RNA sequencer. Capable of long read RNA sequencing for accurate analysis and native DNA/RNA processing.

Thermoblock

Necessary for the isothermal amplification step of the circRNA-seq protocol.

Tabletop centrifuge 5424

Used for the silica column size selection of the RNA.

  • BioNet Alberta

Title

URL

Financial investment spurs genome sciences research in Alberta

https://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/financial-investment-spurs-genome-sciences-research-alberta#.X-F9cUJKjOQ

University of Lethbridge’s computing capabilities to expand through NSERC grant

https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/u-l%E2%80%99s-computing-capabilities-expand-through-nserc-grant

University of Lethbridge scientists unveil a novel molecular mechanism underlying Alzheimer’s disease

https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/u-l-scientists-unveil-novel-molecular-mechanism-underlying-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease