The AllGenetics-EMPSEB Award winner shared her expertise in high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics with the AllGenetics’ staff.
AllGenetics was delighted to welcome Mexican biologist Samantha López Clinton to its headquarters in Spain on May 7th, 2024. Samantha, last year’s recipient of the AllGenetics-EMPSEB Award, visited to share her insights and methodologies in high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics.
Samantha is currently a PhD student under the guidance of Tom van der Valk at Naturhistoriska riksmuseet and Stockholms universitet. Her talk focused on her research into the diversity of insects across Sweden, illustrating her use of both short-read (Illumina) and long-read (Nanopore) metagenomic sequencing. She detailed how these techniques help in uncovering complex patterns of insect genetic diversity and population genetics.
Additionally, Samantha shared experiences from her time in the Peruvian Amazon, where she was instrumental in setting up a sequencing laboratory. Using Nanopore MinION devices, her work supported local research on various primate species, demonstrating the practical application of her skills in challenging environments.
Following her presentation, we held an open discussion on how to enhance metagenome assemblies in diversity studies. This session provided an opportunity for staff to engage directly with Samantha, asking questions and discussing potential improvements in bioinformatic pipelines.