Jan 16, 2026

New genomics, metabolomics instruments added to Huck facilities

Recently acquired scientific instruments have enhanced the research capabilities of two Huck facilities.

Composite of promotional images of the PacBio Revio and Thermo Orbitrap Astral

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has expanded its research capacity with the acquisition of new equipment for the Genomics and Metabolomics Core Facilities.

Genomics: PacBio Revio

The Genomics Core has added a new Revio long-read sequencer from Pacific Biosystems (PacBio), upgrading from a PacBio Sequel IIe. The Genomics core has more than seven years of experience with PacBio doing long-read sequencing, a technology that processes long stretches of DNA (1 to 25 kilobases) in a single pass, compared to short-read sequencing which reads only 50-300 nucleotides at a time. This approach allows researchers to resolve complex genomic regions, identify large structural variations, and assemble genomes with increased accuracy. Cheryl Keller, director of the Genomics Core Facility, says it is comparable to solving a puzzle with large pieces instead of many smaller pieces.

“Today’s genomics projects are larger than in the past,” said Keller. “The Revio increases throughput at a reduced cost compared to the Sequel IIe.”

The Revio can be used in several ways, including:

  • Producing high-fidelity (HiFi) genomes that are contiguous and complete assemblies (HiFi essentially means high accuracy of determining the sequence)
  • Iso-seq, which is a thorough investigation of gene expression by producing full length transcriptomes, including isoforms
  • Targeted enrichment and full-length amplicon sequencing
  • Accurate methylation profiling, including Fiber-seq. Fiber-seq is a long-read sequencing assay that simultaneously profiles chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, protein footprints, and genetic variants at single-molecule resolution

The Genomics Core Facility and PacBio are hosting an event, PacBio Revio Day, on Feb 17th from 10:30-2:30pm in the HUB-Robeson Center for researchers interested in learning more about the new capabilities.

Metabolomics: Thermo Orbitrap Astral

The Metabolomics Core Facility has also acquired new equipment: a Thermo Orbitrap Astral with a Thermo Vanquish Horizon LC. The Orbitrap Astral is used for metabolomics, lipidomics, stable isotope-tracing, and small (<1 kDa) compound identifications.

“The Thermo Orbitrab Astral combines high sensitivity, speed, and resolution to enable deeper coverage, accurate quantification of low-abundance metabolites, and simultaneous discovery and targeted workflows,” said Ashley Shay, director of the Metabolomics Core Facility. “This leads to better biomarker identification and a more complete understanding of complex biological samples like plasma.”

For more information about these instruments, and the entire portfolio of research equipment offered by the Huck, visit the Core Facilities section of the Huck Institutes website.