Researchers develop automated system to accelerate outbreak detection and disease surveillance

Biomedical engineers at Brown University have developed a fully automated workflow that simplifies and accelerates the preparation of bacterial samples for genetic sequencing. The method, dubbed Pathogen2Read, streamlines a critical bottleneck in the genetic sequencing process and could enable small labs without high-throughput automation to more effectively participate in outbreak-monitoring networks operated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control. That could make for faster responses to foodborne illnesses and other outbreaks.