A team of University researchers in the Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering departments are developing a device that can find individual errors in a single strand of a person’s DNA, known as human genome sequencing.
The National Institutes of Health awarded Steven Soper, adjunct chemistry professor, a grant to fund research in genome sequencing. The goal is to develop technology that can complete the sequencing for $1,000 or less. Soper said the device they are working on should be able to complete a sequence for about $500, compared to the current cost of roughly $50,000 to $100,000.
“Insurance doesn’t pay for it and you have to have a family history done before they’ll do DNA testing, which makes it a challenge,” Soper said. “If this cost comes down and it’s easier to get that information, many people can be screened early before cancer metastasizes.”
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