Ion Torrent Gene Sequencer

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National Jewish Health was founded in 1899 to treat tuberculosis.

We are working to eradicate tuberculosis worldwide in 2017.

The Ion Torrent Gene Sequencer is the tool we need to do it.

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection which typically attacks the lungs, but can attack any part of the body. When TB bacteria become active (multiplying in the body) and the immune system can’t stop the bacteria from growing, it becomes TB disease.

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TB takes six to nine weeks to treat entirely. If this full course of treatment is not finished, patients are likely to become sick again, and the TB bacteria that are still alive may become resistant to drugs. TB bacteria that is resistant to drugs is more difficult and expensive to treat.

 

Center for Disease Control 2015 Data (most recent available)

 

Tuberculosis is one of the world’s deadliest diseases:

• One third of the world’s population is infected with TB.

• In 2015, 10.4 million people around the world became sick with TB disease. There were 1.8 million TB-related deaths worldwide.

• TB is a leading killer of people who are HIV infected.

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In the United States in 2015 there were 9,557 cases of TB. Through our health care systems, patients are likely to have access to care throughout the length of the treatment. However, in parts of the world where consistent and effective medical treatment over a longer period is not accessible, TB disease is much grimmer.

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During the six to nine month treatment span, there is a sharp reduction of the bacteria early in the treatment, followed by a dramatically slower decrease with continued treatment.

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National Jewish Health wants to track what happens to the bacteria’s DNA between that sharp decline and slowing of treatment. If we are able to discover what changes within the DNA of the bacteria, we may be able to expedite the speed of complete recovery, saving millions of lives throughout the world. And, ultimately, eliminating TB throughout the globe. 

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In order to track the DNA sequence of TB, National Jewish Health needs to lease an Ion Torrent Gene Sequencer. The Ion Torrent will be critical to our tuberculosis research, but its reach extends far beyond that. The Ion Torrent Gene Sequencer allows our faculty to sequence the whole DNA and/or RNA sequences of a research subject in a short amount of time. This technology enables us to help physicians and scientists develop new research in the area of genomics and understand how our genetic system influences our health. 

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Thus far, gene sequencers have enabled National Jewish Health to conduct a lot of genomic research. In fact, having access to these bio sequencers in 2016 tripled the number of studies that the Center for Genes, Environment & Health have conducted.

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Even with the indisputable impact that gene sequencers have already had on the lab, the newer models are ever-more sophisticated. The modern models do a lot of work automatically that would otherwise be done manually by lab staff. This frees up the time of our doctors and scientists in the lab to get into the data and begin drawing conclusions.

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In making this contribution toward the equipment, you would be working with National Jewish Health and our partners to end Tuberculosis for good, throughout the world, saving millions of lives.