Ion Torrent Extends Ion PGM Sequencer Grant Program to April 18

GUILDFORD, Conn. and SAN FRANCISCO, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Ion Torrent today announced that it will extend the deadline for its Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) Sequencer Grant Program to April 18th to accommodate the large number of applications the company is receiving. Under the program, applicants write a few hundred words describing the experiment they would do with an Ion PGM sequencer. On April 27th, the two scientists whose proposals take best advantage of Ion's speed, throughput, and low cost will receive the first two commercial sequencers Ion Torrent produces. To apply, go to http://www.iontorrent.com/homepage-grant-program-pr/

The Ion PGM Sequencer Grant Program is designed to foster the development of new applications for DNA sequencing that leverage the instrument's unprecedented speed, scalability and low cost. The Ion PGM sequencer can do a run in about an hour, and costs one tenth the price of other sequencers to buy and to run. Priority is given to projects that result in an ongoing application that takes advantage of the Ion PGM sequencer's speed, ease of use, small footprint, and low cost per run.  

"We made this grant easy to apply for—just write a few hundred words about how your project leverages Ion PGM sequencer's unique attributes—and that's generated a strong response from the scientific community," said Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, founder and CEO of Ion Torrent. "We are extending the application deadline to April 18th to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate. We encourage people to take a few minutes and consider the new experiments they can do with a sequencer that generates data in about an hour, costs less than $500 per run, is push-button simple and about the size of a desk top printer."

The grant submissions will be judged on the merit of the ideas and how they take advantage of the Ion PGM sequencer's speed, low cost per run and ease of use. The resources and expertise the applicants can bring to their experiment, and the likelihood that the project will lead to an ongoing application of the technology with significant societal benefit, will also be a factor.  Dr. Rothberg and members of the Ion Torrent Scientific Advisory Board, including Dr. Ron Davis and Dr. George Church, will judge the submissions.

For more information about Ion Torrent, visit www.iontorrent.com. 

SOURCE Ion Torrent