GLOBAL LEADERS
The HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center is one of the few centers in the world performing original sequencing of plants and animals. The non-profit center has generated and publicly released reference genomes for more than 180 plants. Reference genomes serve as a point of comparison for future study and lay the foundation for downstream functional studies for the improvement and production of domesticated crops. In the cases of crop species such as sorghum, soybean, cotton, switchgrass and millet, these genomic references form the basis for genomics-enabled crop breeding to increase yields.
The Story behind the HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center
History
The origins of the HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center are in the Stanford Human Genome Center, where center co-directors Jane Grimwood, PhD, and Jeremy Schmutz worked on finishing, assembling and performing quality analysis on human chromosomes 5, 16 and 19 as part of the global Human Genome Project on the team of Richard M. Myers, PhD.
The vision of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology rests on the foundation established by the Human Genome Project. HudsonAlpha co-founder Jim Hudson once said that the genomics-focused institute was started based upon the basic question of ‘where are we going to take the sequence and the results of the Human Genome Project now?’ HudsonAlpha was founded, and continues to operate today, upon the goal of moving advancements in genomics to improve the human condition.
Jane Grimwood, PhD, and Jeremy Schmutz joined HudsonAlpha in 2008 as faculty investigators. Schmutz leads the Informatics and Production Sequencing groups at the Genome Sequencing Center, which he co-directs with Grimwood. At the Genome Sequencing Center, Grimwood focuses on sequencing, finishing and genome improvement of a wide variety of eukaryotic genomes – including plants, fungi and vertebrates.
Established expertise
The HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center is co-directed by Jane Grimwood, PhD and Jeremy Schmutz. They use their established expertise to conduct sequencing, library building, draft assembly, finishing and informatics. Since 2006, the group has contributed more than 180 plant genomes to the public domain. In addition, members of the HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center have contributed to projects that have resulted in more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Co-directors Grimwood and Schmutz and Genome Analysis Group Leader Jerry Jenkins were named as Clarivate Analytics most highly cited researchers in plant and animal science in 2020, with Grimwood and Schmutz receiving the honor many times since the center’s inception.
Sequencing the human genome for research applications
The center has historically specialized in applying genomic techniques to understand plant genomes in an effort to improve crops for use as food, fuel and fiber. However, the center is now leveraging the ever-advancing sequencing technologies to generate high-quality human genome sequences and assemblies. The addition of human sequencing expertise to their arsenal makes the HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center a well-rounded genomic sequencing center that is here to help meet your research sequencing needs.
Vision
The HudsonAlpha Genomic Sequencing Center’s vision is to provide high-quality whole genome sequencing, assembly and analysis services to researchers interested in incorporating genomics into their research.
Mission
The mission of the HudsonAlpha Genomic Sequencing Center is to serve as a resource and valued collaborator for researchers in the genomics and genetics field by:
- Offering personalized, high-quality whole genome sequencing, assembly and analysis
- Providing expert genomic resources
- Helping researchers apply genomics to their research
- Consulting with researchers to help plan appropriate experiments and sequencing projects
- Applying our expertise in high-performance computing to analyze and integrate enormous amounts of data
Collaborate with the experts.
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