The Bioinformatics Support Unit provides data analysis and experimental design services for next-generation sequencing, microarrays, proteomics and more. We aim to serve Newcastle University, other academic institutions, the NHS and industry. To find out more, or to enquire about working with us, please email using our Unit address: bsu-support@ncl.ac.uk.
To contact a member of the BSU directly, please contact Dr Simon Cockell (Unit Head) or Dr Matthew Bashton.
The BSU has expertise in the following areas, and software packages:
Next-Generation Sequence Analysis
- BWA, Bowtie and other aligners for all NGS platforms and applications
- Mira and Velvet for de novo assembly
- Tophat, Cufflinks, DESeq and Trinity (among others) for RNA-Seq analysis
- GATK for variant calling
- MACS, SISSRs and other peak callers for ChIP-Seq analysis
Microarray Analysis
- Experience with data from all major array platforms (Affymetrix, Illumina, Nimblegen & Agilent)
- Varying data types, including expression, methylation, MEDIP-ChIP, and tiling arrays
- GeneSpring GX
- BioConductor/R
Proteomics Analysis
- Bioinformatic screening for potential protein-protein interactions
- Analysis of SILAC data using MaxQuant
- 2D-GE analysis
Further Expertise
- Remote homology and domain detection using HMMs
- Database design
- Custom pipeline creation
- Custom software engineering
As well as these analysis services, we also provide training courses and bespoke 1-to-1 training for researchers and industry. We aim to provide annual Next-Generation Sequencing, and Introduction to Bioinformatics Tools courses. Our Bioconductor course is currently under development with Colin Gillespie.
The Bioinformatics Support Unit is one of a number of facilities available for research and commercial use at Newcastle University. A full list of University Research Facilities can be found on the Services for Business web pages.
Finding us
The Bioinformatics Support Unit at Newcastle University is based in the Medical School.
Our office and common user area can be found on the second floor of the Leech Building in room M2046/M2046A. Or you can call us on 0191 222 7253.
Our mailing address is:
Bioinformatics Support Unit,Faculty of Medical Sciences, Framlington Place,
Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE2 4HH
