June 20th, 2023 | 10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET

Environmental monitoring plays a crucial role in public health decision-making, requiring the use of scalable sequencing capabilities. These capabilities enable communities to gather essential data and make informed decisions. Moreover, the data generated from localized population studies aids in constructing phylogenetic trees, which enhance our understanding of how infectious diseases spread. Join us for an insightful webinar featuring Krystal Sheridan, an expert from the Translational Genomics Research Institute. During the webinar, Krystal will share her institute’s journey in automating sequencing workflows using the firefly and Watchmaker DNA Library Prep Kit with Fragmentation. The focus will be on their application in Arizona’s first statewide invasive group A strep surveillance project.

Key Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the rationale behind the decision to automate sequencing workflows for environmental monitoring.
  • Gain practical insights into process optimizations and considerations learned from automating sequencing workflows.
  • Explore the Translational Genomics Research Institute’s approach to kit selection in the development of a comprehensive whole-genome sequencing workflow.
  • Learn about the specific application of the firefly and Watchmaker DNA Library Prep Kit with Fragmentation in Arizona’s invasive group A strep surveillance project.
Register here
About the presenters:

Krystal Sheridan
Sequencing Laboratory Supervisor – Pathogen Genomics, Translational Genomics Research Institute

Krystal Sheridan is the sequencing laboratory supervisor for TGen North, a non-profit research institute located in Flagstaff, Arizona, where she works with TGen investigators to optimize their sequencing workflows, coordinate sequencing projects, and develop NGS standards. Her role also includes managing TGen North’s HIVE Lab, a high-throughput sequencing lab that provides internal library prep and sequencing services for TGen’s larger-scale projects. Before this role, Sheridan was the manager of the Collaborative Sequencing Center at TGen’s headquarters in Phoenix, and sequencing coordinator for the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at Northern Arizona University. She has nine years of experience in non-profit research, primarily with pathogen genomics and NGS workflows. She is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and lives with her partner, daughter, four cats, and three dogs in the beautiful mountains of Arizona.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystal-sheridan/ 

Eleanor Matrullo, Automation Program Manager, Watchmaker Genomics, Inc.

Eleanor Matrullo, M.S.
Automation Program Manager, Watchmaker Genomics

Eleanor Matrullo is the automation program manager at Watchmaker Genomics, building out the automation support offering for Watchmaker’s DNA and RNA library prep solutions on popular third-party liquid handling platforms. Matrullo has over nine years of experience automating NGS assays on a variety of platforms. Before joining Watchmaker, she led the applications team at Tecan, before which she was a senior automation field application scientist at Roche. She holds a Master of Science degree in applied genomics and a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cell biology, both from the University of Connecticut.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanormatrullo/

Melissa Netwal
Field Application Scientist, SPT Labtech

Melissa Netwal is a field applications scientist at SPT Labtech, focused on SPT Labtech’s newest liquid handler, the firefly, for genomics applications. Netwal has over eight years of experience in the industry. Prior to joining SPT Labtech in the fall of 2022, Netwal worked as an R&D scientist at Bay Area start-up companies Zymergen and Demetrix, using various automation platforms for microbial and enzyme engineering. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Sponsored by SPT Labtech, featuring the firefly