International Conference on Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (ICBMBB)
​a joint conference between the
43rd Annual Conference of the Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
and
25th Scientific Meeting of the Malaysian Society for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Four Points by Sheraton Puchong
​15-16th August 2018
Tech Talks
Title: Droplet Digital PCR Technology: Promises Of New Applications In Research
​
Adam Ng, Canvio (Biorad)
Adam NG is currently a Technical Sales Specialist (QLB) SEA with Bio-Rad Laboratories, covering digital droplet PCR portfolio. He started with Bio-Rad laboratories as Field Application Specialist in year 2016. He obtained his MSc (with distinction) from the University of Aberdeen in year 2009 and was awarded by the university for Best Postgraduate Award. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree with honours in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the University of Malaya in year 2008.
Prior joining Bio-Rad, Adam worked at Molecular Diagnosis Centre, National University Hospital Singapore, as a Medical Technologist. His focus was in various detection and quantitation methods for infectious virus (such as HIV, HBV, HCV etc) and HIV drug resistance testing. He also worked as a Lab Scientist at Research Instruments Singapore, covering Affymetrix microarray service.
His technical experiences include high throughput molecular techniques such as DNA microarray, real-time PCR and more recently, Droplet Digital™ PCR (ddPCR). The applications of ddPCR are diverse and some of these include gene expression, mutation detection, copy number variation analysis, pathogen detection, liquid biopsy, and quantitation of residual host cell DNA in biologics.
​
Abstract
Quantitative real-time PCR is widely used for several applications across life science research, applied testing and molecular diagnostics. This 20-year old technology is facing increasing challenges with today’s demands for more data with less samples and the needs for higher precision, sensitivity and reproducibility. The concept of digital PCR was coined by Dr. Alec Morley in as early as 1992. Today, we have more than 1,000 Bio-Rad Droplet Digital™ PCR (ddPCR) instrument installations aiding researchers and technicians with their research globally. In today’s talk, we will be highlighting the key applications of ddPCR, its benefits over qPCR and how it may address some of your research questions. These include rare mutations detection in cancer using liquid biopsy, copy number variation, infectious virus and pathogen detection, and other emerging applied markets applications e.g food, GMO and water testing. Accelerate your research and enter the digital world today!
​
​
Title: Enabling molecular insights with next generation sequencing
​
Dr Chun Wei, QIAGEN
Dr Chun Wei is currently the Application Specialist for life science and biological content research portfolios at QIAGEN Biotechnology Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. He obtained his PhD at University of Malaya for his study on “Neurovirulence variation among the two genotypes of chikungunya virus in Malaysia”. He has 5 years of laboratory experience in tissue culture and virus work, gene expression, experimental animal work (mice) and etc. He has seven publications, four poster presentations and one chapter in book. He was awarded with 2 travel grants to attend 9th Asian Pacific Congress of Medical Virology at Adelaide, Australia in 2012 and 16th Biological Sciences Graduate Congress at National University of Singapore in 2011.
​
Abstract
Since the completion of the 13-year-long Human Genome Project in 2003 at the cost of USD 3 billion, the race has been on for affordable, large number of samples and faster sequencing. NGS has revolutionized genomic research with its unique approach on sequencing, thus allowing it to be utilized for new and exciting applications, such as single cell analysis, liquid biopsy research, circulating-free DNA (cfDNA) studies, metagenomics and targeted sequencing. As we see the move from the traditional Sanger sequencing to affordable next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, an increasing number of diagnostic and research labs started to adopt this technology.
Targeted sequencing is a rapid and cost-effective way to detect both known and novel variants in selected sets of genes or genomic regions. With targeted sequencing, only a subset of genes or regions of the genome are sequenced. This allow researchers to focus time, expenses and data analysis on clinically relevant genes or regions of interest. Such targeted sequencing enables low frequency call for DNA variants and gene fusions from a wide range of sample types. Recently, targeted sequencing also has being applied in tumor mutational burden test as a way to assess immunotherapy response for cancer and microsatellite instability (MSI) test to determine MSI status of cancer such as colorectal cancer.
The massive amount of data produced by NGS also presents a significant challenge for data storage, analyses and management. Therefore, advanced bioinformatics tools are essential to simplify and reveal meaningful insights for results that make an impact.
​
​
Title: Fluorescence Multiplex Total Protein Normalization
​
Nicole Cheah, Technical Product Specialist, Azure Biosystems (USA), PLT Scientific
Nicole joined Azure Biosystems since 2016 and is responsible for supporting the customers as well as developing the business for the company across South East Asia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia & New Zealand. At Azure Biosystems, we develop easy-to-use, high performance imaging systems for life science research. Nicole has 10 years’ experience in the Life Science industry, she believes in innovation driven performance that new technology can help scientists improve the design of experiments, and the ease with which they collect their data. Thus, she is actively working with the bench scientists, for example on Western Blotting to have a deep understanding of their needs and enables the company to develop products that deliver real value to bench scientists.
​
Abstract
Normalization is critical for obtaining accurate, quantitative data from Western blots. Normalization accounts for unequal loading of samples across the lanes on a gel and for differences in transfer efficiency across a blot. Traditionally, protein normalization for Western blots involves comparing the relative abundance of a protein of interest to that of an unrelated protein - the normalization of loading control. More recently total protein normalization (TPN) methods, in which the relative abundance of the protein of interest is compared to the total protein content of the sample, has quickly become a requirement for many publication outlets as several studies have shown that the expression of commonly used housekeeping proteins can vary across experimental tissues or conditions and may not be a robust way to determine protein the amount of protein in a sample. In this talk, Azure Biosystems would like to share about the use of Total Protein Normalization in fluorescent Western blotting and strategies for multiplex Western blotting with a total protein control.
​
Title: New insight into gene expression profiling with Nanostring Technology
​
Dr Caroline Chan, Senior Field Application Scientist, Nanostring, Asia Pacific
Caroline received her PhD from University of Queensland in Developmental Neurobiology in 2009 where her research focused on olfactory system growth and regeneration. There she investigated the role of cell surface carbohydrates underlying axon navigation in the developing olfactory system. Her work focused on brain repair and led her to develop an interest in advancing genomic and health technologies. She has experience working with leading international microarray and Life Sciences companies and is accomplished with many cutting edge techniques. Caroline brought her enthusiasm, and passion for helping others to Nanostring in 2017 where she enables customers throughout Asia to harness the power and promise of Nanostring nCounter Analysis System.
​
Abstract
Recent advances in molecular profiling of cancer have given clinicians the tools required to make better treatment decisions for patients. Building an accurate representation of the biology of a particular tumor is key for patient selection, therapeutic monitoring, and rational combination therapy design. Accurately measuring the expression of genes in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tumor tissues has long been a struggle due to the inherent degradation of RNA isolated from these materials. Accurate quantification of gene expression levels in FFPE samples can enable the testing of biomarker hypotheses in the clinic and can potentially be used for patient stratification or selection in clinical trials. In today’s seminar, I am going to discuss how the Nanostring technology enable researchers to quickly analyze the expression of up to 770 genes (each panel) and construct a comprehensive view of the biology of a particular tumor as well as new tools that allow them to measure DNA, RNA, and protein simultaneously and with spatial resolution.
With the broader understanding of the biology and pathway activity of cancer, scientists are better equipped to identify, characterize and target biomarkers for cancer that can be translated for clinical applications.
​