Two Microarray Symposia were hosted on 12 and 13 July, titled “Latest Advances in Microarray Applications and Next-Generation Sequencing Target Enrichment Technology”. The Symposia attracted researchers and students actively utilising or envisaging the use of microarrays as part of their research. Attendees to the two-day Symposia were from the Universities of Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Witwatersrand; as well as the Agricultural Research Council and the CSIR. The event was sponsored by Anatech, vendors of Agilent microarray products in South Africa.
At both events, presentations on the latest advances in Agilent microarray and target enrichment technology were given by Drs Yann Filaudeu and Herve Chaulet. Additionally, Nicky Olivier highlighted the activities and successes of the ACGT Microarray Facility over the last decade, and gave an insight as to the vision of the Facilities’ future “–omics” research involvement. ACGT Centre Manager, Dr John Becker, further informed the audience about the ACGT’s current activities and past achievements.
Students at both events were given the opportunity to showcase their research. At UP, Masters student Janet Snyman described her work on transcriptional profiling of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Steven Hussey in turn, provided insights into the use of arrays at the Facility and touched on work performed towards his PhD involving plant-pathogen interactions. In the same field, John Walters from UJ Biochemistry presented his research utilising the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Wits student Karen Walters had the opportunity to share her work on the effect of fertility medicine on gene expression profiles, performed in the School of Anatomical Sciences.
The Symposia highlighted advances in array technology which increase throughput and ease of use. Standard procedures for performing array analyses at the ACGT Facility, as well as data analysis, are available. Please contact the Facility Manager, Nicky Olivier, to arrange a meeting to discuss potential projects utilising microarray analyses and the use of the Facility, on 012 420 4239 or .
Please keep an eye on this website for upcoming events involving microarray technology.