*NEW* Accelerating Analytical Validation for Next-Generation Sequencing: Insights from Liverpool Clinical Laboratories 

Carolina Felix, Senior Biomedical Scientist at the Liverpool Clinical Laboratories, recently shared her lab's experience working with Thermo Fisher Scientific's Service and Support team for a research assay validation consultation.

The lab, which provides immunocytochemistry and genomic testing services to hospitals in the Liverpool area, decided to implement the Oncomine Precision Assay (OPA) on the Genexus System as part of their workflow.

Before implementing OPA, the lab relied on a combination of techniques such as RT-PCR, IHC, and FISH for single gene molecular profiling. However, with the increasing number of molecular biomarkers, they recognized the need to explore the possibility of implementing local next-generation sequencing (NGS). This led them to seek assistance from Thermo Fisher's Analytical Validation consulting service.

The AV consulting service was helpful in addressing the challenges typically associated with new assay analytical validation. The lab, situated in a large teaching hospital and referral center, often faces a heavy workload and must balance testing activities with other commitments.

Thermo Fisher's AV team provided consultation in project planning, run planning, and result analysis, thereby focusing project efforts and reducing the burden on the lab's scientific staff.

Read our recent blog post to learn more about how the Analytical Validation Consultation Service helped enable the success of the lab’s project.
  

> Read Blog

On June 12, 2020, Bernhardt Laboratories was notified by local authorities that their laboratory had caught fire in the middle of the night

In the summer of 2020, the team of Thermo Fisher Scientific field service engineers (FSEs) from the southeastern region of the US took on a challenge unlike anything anyone on the services and support team had seen before. Working together in the face of uncertainty, FSEs Jimmy Balan, Scott Allen, and Jason Pepper helped a laboratory rebuild from a devastating fire, restoring equipment necessary for the laboratory to quickly return to supporting its clients.

Dr. Catherine Dumur, vice president of molecular diagnostics and NGS development at Bernhardt Laboratories in Jacksonville, Florida, received a call informing her that the laboratory had tragically caught on fire in the middle of the night. In the wake of the disaster, Dr. Dumur immediately contacted Thermo Fisher Scientific. The next day Jimmy, Scott, and Jason were on-site, helping Dr. Dumur and her team work towards getting a satellite laboratory up and running. The entire mission was accomplished in just a few months.

Learn more about the team’s incredible effort in this powerful video, featuring images from the site and interviews with Dr. Dumur and the general manager of Bernhardt Laboratories, Jorge Almenara, PhD, as well as with our service and support team as they tell the story of what it took to save a laboratory in unprecedented times.

When A Lab Studying Rare Cancers Experienced Unexpected NGS Results, A Thermo Fisher Scientific TAS Solved The Puzzle

In the molecular biology lab at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli (IOR) in Bologna, technician Dr. Gabriella Gamberi encountered a mystery - Some NGS runs on her Ion GeneStudio S5 System had a high number of low-quality reads, and she didn't know why.

Dr. Gamberi reached out to Thermo Fisher Scientific technical application specialist Gian Marco Baranzoni.

As part of Thermo Fisher's team of dedicated TAS professionals providing remote support for instruments and consumables via phone, email, and on-demand digital support tools- helping resolve 70% of cases in minutes, not days- Gian Marco specializes in providing remote informatics assistance to scientists in the EMEA region.

An expert in NGS and other applications with Thermo Fisher since 2018, Gian Marco had already been supporting Dr. Gamberi; this time he was able to leverage his knowledge of both the lab's lon Torrent instrumentation as well as his experience in bioinformatics to solve the puzzle of the unexpected results.

Read our case study featuring interviews with both Dr. Gamberi and Gian Marco to learn more about how he helped IOR solve its sequencing mystery and how service and support technicians like Gian Marco go above and beyond for our customers everyday.

> Read Case Study