By Development Communication Section / JC Huervana / RC Sibonga / LA Delgado
SEAFDEC/AQD’s senior technical assistants Ms. Joana Joy Huervana and Ms. Rema Sibonga together with research assistant Ms. Loina Henzel Delgado attended the lecture Introduction to Next Generation Sequencing Data Analysis organized by the Philippine Genome Center – Core Facility for Bioinformatics (PGC-CFB) at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s (UPD) Marine Science Institute on 22 February 2016.
The lecture focused on the concepts and tools of DNA sequence analysis and the role of bioinformatics in genome-wide association studies.
Discussed during the lecture were basic concepts of molecular biology and genetics that underlie genomics and their applications, as well as characteristics of genomic data that account for the challenges associated with next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis.
NGS gives more data using less time and with lesser cost compared to other sequencing technologies. Its applications include whole genome sequencing, targeted sequencing, metagenomic sequencing, and RNA sequencing which are used in different studies in agriculture, health, and biodiversity.
During the lecture, different softwares and tools used in NGS analysis methods were also introduced to the attendees.
According to UPD’s College of Statistics Professor Dr. Joselito Magadia, “Researchers should not just rely on their statisticians – the statistical tools can do all the work but you still have to be responsible for learning the concept behind.”