Genomics
UC Santa Cruz is the birthplace of nanopore long-read sequencing and led the first telomere-to-telomere completion of a human genome in 2022. We work on a wide array of projects with real-world impact, including collaborations on state and federal efforts to track disease, conservation projects with national parks, wide scale studies of the genomics of cancer and disease, de-extinction efforts, and more.
119B
Bases added to the existing human genome reference through the pangenome
$28.4M
In state and federal funding
15M
Covid sequences in our phylogenetic tree
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UCSC’s David Deamer and Mark Akeson honored for invention of nanopore sequencing
Today, two UC Santa Cruz researchers were honored at the Library of Congress for the invention of nanopore sequencing, which became a new and revolutionary method to read DNA and RNA. David Deamer and Mark Akeson, both emeritus professors of biomolecular engineering at the Baskin School of Engineering, received the American Association for the Advancement…
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Human pangenome reference will enable more complete and equitable understanding of genomic diversity
UC Santa Cruz scientists, along with a consortium of researchers, have released a draft of the first human pangenome—a new, usable reference for genomics that combines the genetic information of 47 individuals from different ancestral backgrounds to allow for a deeper, more accurate understanding of worldwide genomic diversity. By adding 119 million bases—the “letters” in…
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Genome of famed sled dog Balto reveals genetic adaptations of working dogs
Still a good boy nearly 100 years after historic sled run, Balto has now helped scientists explore the genetics of working dogs and demonstrate the power of comparative genomics The sled dog Balto has been celebrated in books and movies for his role in delivering desperately needed diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska, in 1925. Now,…
Genomics Institute
The UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute leads a variety of sequencing, software, and wet lab projects to revolutionize our understanding of health and nature.