Next Generation Genome Sequencing Aims To Help Doctors Personalize Treatments

Dr. Bonnie Hurwitz, UA Assistant Professor of Biosystems Engineering and BIO5 fellow, has combined both genomics and computer programming for her research in metagenomics, or the sequencing of whole communities of microorganisms within a sample. The ultimate goal of her work is for doctors to be able to sequence samples from patients to offer quick diagnoses and treatment plans. Her lab has worked collaboratively with BIO5 member Dr. Thomas Doetschman, UA Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Professor of  Cancer Biology, researching colon cancer. Hurwitz also works alongside BIO5 member Dr. Jana U’Ren, UA Assistant Professor of Ecosystem Genomics, in the Environmental Bioinformatics program, which is developing bioinformatics tools to support analyses at all computational levels aimed at answering questions related to the relationship between microbes, their hosts, and the environment.