Life Sciences Training Facility

A genome-wide dimension of research: the Life Sciences Training Facility (LSTF).

The LSTF is an academic facility that provides access to microarray and deep-sequencing technologies and contributes to the identification of novel molecular pathways in health and disease.

Microarrays for the analysis of the human genome processed at the LSTF

Until recently, researchers were able to study only single or just few genes related to the biological question they were interested in. Novel genome-wide methods now allow for studying all genes of an organism simultaneously and pave the way towards new discoveries related to the regulation and function of genes. The Life Sciences Training Facility (LSTF) provides researchers in Basel and throughout Switzerland a unique platform to perform their microarray and deep-sequencing experiments.

Access to latest DNA microarrays technologies

The methods of DNA microarrays allow researchers to measure the expression levels of large numbers of genes simultaneously or to genotype multiple regions of a genome. The LSTF use the Affymetrix microarray technology to conduct projects in various organisms ranging from worms to humans. These projects have led to the identification of novel genes and molecules, and confirm the notion that the genome is far more complex than originally thought. Indeed, there is a lot to be discovered and understood in the context of gene expression and gene regulation.

Novel deep-sequencing methods – fast at no-frills

Recently, the LSTF moved an important step forward and now provides support for deep sequencing. With this new technology it is possible to determine the complete sequence of an organism’s genome, or selected regions thereof, at accessible prices and fast. This method bears a huge potential for new discoveries in biological and biomedical research and can be also used for diagnostic purposes.

With both types of technologies we offer a broad panel of tools to get a complete, genome-wide picture of biological systems. The LSTF is well equipped to narrow the gap between genotype and tra