David Schwartz, Professor of Chemistry and Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Chapters:
Listen (4:16) First optical map of a cancer genome
Listen (4:46) The space between cytogenetics and short reads
Listen (6:06) How sequencing the human genome changed the way we do biology
Listen (2:40) Short reads lead to genomic tautology
Listen (4:50) How would you improve sequencing?
Listen (2:26) One's science is personal
Listen (3:24) Using biology for the next level of automation
David Schwartz was focused on long read sequencing and the structural variations of the genome—the big picture—long before the current trend. His lab at the University of Wisconsin at Madison developed optical mapping and posted the first optical map of the human genome several years ago. And last year, they published the first optical map of a cancer genome.
David is the first guest in our second series to focus on long read sequencing. He was interested in structural variation even before the first human genome was published, an endeavor which he says changed the way we do biology.
How does he see sequencing developing?
“Sequencing will be electronic,” he says. “Ultimately we’ll use synthetic pores. Some sort of non-biomolecule based approach will reign supreme.”
With his illustrative history in genetics, we can’t help but ask David a couple of our favorite questions here at Mendelspod--such as, how much wet lab vs. dry lab for the new biologist?
