The New York Genome Center (NYGC) is pleased to welcome Life Technologies Corporation’s “Ion Bus,” a fully functional mobile DNA sequencing lab housed in a retrofitted tour bus, which will be open to the public in Times Square on April 25 from 9:00AM - 2:00PM.

NYGC is an unprecedented, large-scale collaborative venture in genomic medicine that will soon become one of the largest genomic facilities in North America. World-renowned medical and academic research institutions have partnered to form this Center with complete unity of purpose: to make the New York region a global magnet for genomic-based research and development. NYGC will serve as a transformational catalyst for the future of science and medicine by creating an intellectually vibrant collaborative community of biomedical and research specialists in New York. As the voice of genomic science in New York City, NYGC is pleased to welcome Life Technologies’ Ion Bus to Times Square to showcase its Ion Torrent sequencing technology.

To introduce the public and media to cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology, Life Technologies will conduct a live sequencing demonstration using the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) on a non-virulent strain of E. coli. Life will use data from previous sequencing runs to illustrate the difference between two E. coli strains: one of a harmless and common strain, the second of the virulent strain that caused the E. coli outbreak in Germany last spring. Graphical data originating from the Ion PGM™ will be used to provide a side-by-side comparison, to show how scientists tell the difference between the two. (NOTE: There WILL NOT be any harmful E. coli on the bus. Only DATA from the deadly strain will be shown.)

Graham Scott, Ph.D., Senior Marketing Leader for Life Technologies, invites the media and the public to tour Life Technologies’ mobile DNA sequencing lab and learn how genomic science impacts public health. Life specialists will be on hand to answer questions pertaining to the application of genomic science to research and to explain how DNA sequencing can rapidly decode infectious pathogens to solve public health crises.

As part of its Innovation Center, NYGC plans to fund purchases of “next-next gen” sequencing technology and allow member scientists to test and publish on these platforms. NYGC is committed to bringing advanced technologies, such as those offered by Life Technologies, to New York over the coming months.

“We are pleased to be collaborating today with Life Technologies, a company that shares our commitment both to technology advancement and to public education. The Ion Bus is a wonderful opportunity to help introduce the power of genomic science to New York, a mission that NYGC continues to advance,” said Nancy J. Kelley, Executive Director of New York Genome Center.