Cancer and Brain Genomics Laboratory (CBG)

The unit brings together state-of-the-art expertise, tools, structures, and equipment in medical and functional genomics, ideally positioning this unit to address the challenges and issues of genomics, post-genomics, precision medicine, and digital health:

• A genomics infrastructure comprising second (Illumina Miseq, Nextseq550, Novaseq6000) and third-generation (Pacbio Revio, Nanopore) sequencers, robots, and all the necessary equipment for library preparation, (ASGARD Genomics Platform (Advanced Genomic Analyses and Sequencing for Research and Diagnosis) and equipment from the Caen and Rouen CLCCs), along with digital PCR platforms, tools for studying DNA methylation, and traditional DNA and RNA analysis technologies.
• A bioinformatics structure integrating the unit’s own infrastructures (CEREBRO, computing and storage cluster) within the University of Rouen Normandy and human resources in bioinformatics and biostatistics.
• Cell culture technical platforms enabling the culture of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), their genomic editing (CRISPR/Cas9), and their differentiation into chosen cell types, in 2D or 3D (organoids), for studying disease mechanisms, treatment response, and toxicity, and access to cutting-edge tools in imaging and cell biology within the PRIMACEN platform.
• Tools and equipment for small animals (in utero electroporation, small animal surgery, animal behavior, electrophysiology, optogenetics).

The scientific problems addressed are critical for the understanding and management of multiple pathologies. Current and future methodological developments and new knowledge are essential prerequisites for advances in medical research, including the detection and interpretation of individual genetic variations, the integration of variations and the calculation of personalized risk, the development of biomarkers based on results obtained from models close to patients’ biological reality and directly linked to patient samples, phenotypic characterization and the strong link with clinical specialists at the forefront of their field, the personalization of diagnoses, treatments, and care strategies, and the development of digital tools. New scientific knowledge derived from rare diseases, extreme forms of common diseases, and directly from common diseases has a potential impact on a large number of patients, in a spirit of translational research to meet patients’ specific needs.