Historic research instrument partnership to support work in genomics, health, and biotechnology
Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University mark a historic shift in how research infrastructure operates in Virginia by collaborating for access to a commercial-level genomic sequencing equipment.
Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University have begun a unique and historic partnership aimed to benefit both institutions as well as residents of Virginia.
To elevate research and critical discoveries, the two universities have collaborated to facilitate access to a commercial level, high-throughput sequencing system, the Illumina NovaSeq X Plus System.
Housed on the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) campus, it brings commercial-grade sequencing power in-house, ensuring researchers have the same tools used by top genomic centers, allowing them to make faster, more advanced discoveries, while maximizing taxpayer-supported resources. The instrument is expected to accelerate breakthroughs in everything from precision medicine to agricultural resilience.
The partnership also marks a historic shift in how research infrastructure operates in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Funded through the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, this collaboration is the first instance in Virginia of a single piece of research instrumentation being jointly owned, managed, and operated by two independent universities.
“I think looking forward, the result will be a model that extends well beyond the single instrument,” said Dan Sui, Virginia Tech’s senior vice president and chief research and innovation officer. “It will demonstrate that collaboration at this level is not only possible, it is a new merit imperative. It will increase utilization, reduce redundancy, and deliver greater value to both our researchers and the citizens who support this work.”
Currently the only non-commercial system of its kind in Virginia, the NovaSeq X Plus is capable of generating up to 20 terabases of data in a single run, or more than 2.5 times the output of its predecessors. For Virginia researchers, this translates to a 60 percent reduction in sequencing costs and a significant increase in data accuracy and speed.
Sui, along with P. Srirama Rao, VCU’s vice president for research and innovation, were joined by Virginia Delegates Betsey Carr of the 78th District and Lindsey Dougherty of the 75th District along with State Council of Higher Education for Virginia Deputy Director and Chief of Staff Jennifer Mayton at the formal unveiling of the machine on April 2 at the VCU campus. The gathering, which included Illumina representative Chris Brown and key university research officials, served as a formal unveiling of the NovaSeq X Plus.
Beyond the hardware, the partnership offers bench-side collaboration that commercial labs cannot replicate. Researchers now have direct access to the highly skilled genomics core teams at both universities who can provide tailored solutions for complex projects.
“This is truly a transformative advancement. And it positions us to deliver faster, higher quality data, and it will drive discoveries in human health, agriculture, and in biotechnology,” shared Srirama Rao, VCU’s vice president for research and innovation. “It serves as a template for how Virginia universities can collaborate to share high-end instrumentation and ensure that Virginia remains a global leader in innovation.”
More about this machinery and each institution’s genomics cores can be found at Virginia Tech’s Genomics Sequencing Facility's website and VCU’s genomics core website.
