NGS-CN

Next Generation Sequencing Competence Network

News from the network

The NGS Competence Centers

The Next Generation Sequencing Competence Network (NGS-CN) is a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) funded initiative bringing together four NGS Competence Centers (NGS-CCs):

NGS Technology

Next Generation Sequencing has emerged as a key technology in the life and medical sciences, and as such it continuously evolves and improves. The NGS competence network goal is to harmonize NGS services across state-of-the-art national core facilities. Such approach ensures the best results for developing, advancing, and providing this essential technology. As it happens for similar NGS networks world-wide, the NGS competence network can increase the international visibility of the participating institutes and bring a strong collaborative structure to advance Germany’s genome research scientific landscape.

Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) services can be obtained through the NGS-CN. The following are a few options. Apply for NGS sequencing within the DFG call. The calls are announced by the DFG on their website (www.dfg.de). Apply to the DFG in a normal application process and also engage with the NGS centers upfront for collaboration on sequencing (www.dfg.de and www.ngs-kn.de).

 

The third option, of course, is if you have funding from any other source, you also can use the NGS centers. Please contact the CCU (contact.ccu@uni-bonn.de) or the NGS-CCs directly (ngs-kn.de).

 

For all of these options, we can provide you contacts for consulting and interaction with the NGS centers. (contact.ccu@uni-bonn.de)

Want to connect with a network of experts in NGS Technologies and applications? Our experts work on a wide range of topics and with different organisms, from bacteria to plants to humans. Go to profiles.

Want to stay up-to-date with our outreach activities such as the Explain Podcast? Check the SIG1 channels below!

Special Interest Groups

Experts and members from all partner sites of the NGS-CN have constituted 5 Special Interest Groups (SIGs), working groups focusing on topics relevant for operational and strategic decisions.

SIG-1 is a communication pillar within NGS-CN. In this place sci-outreach projects grow strong to be shared with everyone interested in genomic life science research.

We offer space for early career researchers where they could advance in chosen career paths or/and identify new ones. Our events serve as a networking hub for newcomers and senior scientists to meet&greet, develop ideas together and find new colleagues!

The SIG-1 team is behind the NGS-CN website as well as multiple social media channels to deliver crisp clear info about the recent activity within our network and to communicate with you – feel free to reach out!

Connect via: LinkedIn, Twitter, NGS-CN website, WGGC website.

Are you looking for collaborators in a specific field of research? Visit our Profiles website and find the right expert based on the expertise you need.

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Knowledge-rich scientific events are coordinated by sci-officers & NGS-CN volunteers – we’re happy to have an engaging network and co-create!

We meet at online events such as NGS-CN webinars and NGS-CN Schools.

We focus on exchange and network on site – such recurrent meetings as Bio-Data Science Evenings in Düsseldorf and Data Analysis Cafe in Dresden are emerging at our selected production sites. More to come – we enjoy chatting about science and share their know-hows!

Contact: iuliia.novoselova@hhu.de

SIG-2 advances the NGS-CN scientific collaborations & makes the network visible on the political arena.

Long term strategies include supporting large sequencing projects outside of the specific DFG NGS calls and acquisition of third-party funds. The NGS-CN is for example a partner of the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) pilot projects.

A special focus is on information technologies and artificial intelligence, with the NGS-CN actively involved with the breakthrough Swarm Learning technology.

Future strategic activities will also include biobanks (e.g. in the area of the Leibniz Institutes) and partnerships with industry.

Contact: contact.ccu@uni-bonn.de

SIG-3 implements the standardization of genomic applications proposed at the NGS-CN. Our overall aim is to ensure the quality and reproducibility of generated NGS data regardless of the production site.

The group promotes innovative solutions, proposes support for developing and evaluating new technologies, and organises the exchange of expertise and transfer of know-hows.

The group also promotes the usage of laboratory management systems to control and harmonise collaborating production, and the standardization of project consulting for most popular NGS applications.

Contact: nicolas.casadei@med.uni-tuebingen.de

SIG 4 advises on, harmonizes, and consolidates analysis pipelines to be used for automated NGS data analysis within the NGS-CN. SIG 4 thereby pursues two main goals.

It aims to establish common measures and platforms for quality control of primary, secondary, and tertiary NGS data analysis.

It serves as an exchange platform for data analysis ideas and concepts, as well as pipelines, methods, and tool developments..

Contact: johannes.koester@uni-due.de

The SIG-5 team develops strategies towards harmonized data management, protection and privacy policies within NGS-CN.

Their spectrum of work includes but not limited to:

Laboratory information management system (LIMS) to track project processing in the laboratory

High data security and data privacy standards development

Implementation of data privacy regulations according to the EU-GDPR

Contact: susanne.motameny@uni-koeln.de

The NGS-CN was among the leading force in the German research effort to understand and fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with other excellent research institutes, the DeCOI – German COVID19 OMICS initiative was established. Read more at the DeCOI page.

The Central Coordination Unit

The NGS-CN has a main administrative body called the Central Coordination Unit (CCU) represented by Prof. Joachim Schultze (speaker), and Dr. Tal Pecht (CCU office representative). The CCU is tasked with harmonizing and facilitating consulting and networking thought the NGS-CN in the areas of Bioinformatics, Genomics, and High Throughput Computing.

 

Prof. Dr. med. Joachim L. Schultze

CCU speaker of the Next Generation Sequencing
Competence Network (NGS-CN)
University of Bonn
Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES) – I206
Genomics & Immunoregulation
Carl-Troll-Straße 31
53115 Bonn
Tel.: +49 / (0)2 28 / 73 – 6 27 87 (Secretary)
Fax: +49 / (0)2 28 / 73 – 6 26 46
office.immunogenomics(at)uni-bonn.de

Dr. Tal Pecht

CCU office
Sequencing Competence Network (NGS-CN)
Das Life & Medical Sciences-Institute (LIMES)
Carl-Troll-Str. 31
53115 Bonn
talpecht(at)uni-bonn.de
+49/ (0)2 28 / 43302707

Next Generation Competence Centers (NGS-CCs)

Competence Centre for Genome Analysis Kiel (CCGA Kiel)

Dresden-Concept Genome Center (DcGC)

NGS Competence Center Tübingen (NCCT)

NGS Competence Center Tübingen (NCCT) The West German Genome Center (WGGC)

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