omation mbers - Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening

10:30 am Thursday, February 5 Clinical – Arrays Room C1
John Walker
GNF
10675 John Jay Hopkins Drive
San Diego, California 92121
walker@gnf.org
Using Reference Gene Expression Datasets to Make Sense of Your Array Data
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Co-Author(s)
John Hogenesch, Andrew Su,
Sergei Batalov, Michael Cooke,
Jie Zhang
Gene function is the major focus of Genomics research today. Where and under which conditions a gene is
expressed can give information on its function. We have made a major effort in providing the public with gene
expression data from normal human and rodent tissue. I will discuss how we and others have used this data to
find genes responsible for human disease and mouse phenotypes. Construction and future potential uses of this
data, as well as upcoming public data releases, will be discussed.
11:00 am Thursday, February 5 Clinical – Arrays Room C1
John Palma
Affymetrix, Inc.
3380 Central Expressway
Santa Clara, California 95051
john_palma@affymetrix.com
Molecular Tools Designed for the Clinic
The completion of the draft sequence of the human genome, improvements in computing power and rapid
advancements in microarray technology have accelerated the use of high density oligonucleotide microarrays.
Researchers are maximizing the amount of information they can obtain from precious patient samples by carrying
out genome wide analyses in a single experiment. In Affymetrix’ 12 years pioneering the field, it has driven the
technology forward with marked improvements in reproducibility, sensitivity and information content per array.
As a testament to the acceptance and versatility of the technology, over 1400 research articles have been
published based on GeneChip ® array data, with over 600 in 2002. Consistent with the single platform concept,
the platform can now be used for a more biologically comprehensive approach to dissecting complex disease.
Arrays are available for RNA and DNA analysis, with DNA analysis applications for both SNP genotyping and
custom re-sequencing efforts. In order to move arrays into the clinical arena, a number of challenges have been
identified. These include, scalability for high throughput applications, establishment of standards and guidelines,
recommendations from professional societies, use in large clinical studies and trials, support from advocacy
groups, competitive pricing and reimbursement. Microarrays, in conjunction with patient clinical parameters
and sophisticated algorithms, present the opportunity to achieve an integrated treatment approach, taking
advantage of all of the clues DNA, RNA and clinical information can provide. Information regarding advances in our
technology, automation for high throughput array handling and efforts towards the development of guidelines and
standards will be presented.