Illumina and Broad Institute Launch Spatial Transcriptomics Project Ahead of AGBT Meeting
Illumina has announced a collaboration with the Broad Institute on a Spatial Flagship Project aimed at advancing spatial transcriptomics research using Illumina’s newly developed spatial technology platform. The partnership was revealed ahead of the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) General Meeting in Florida, where researchers from both organizations, alongside St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), are scheduled to present early research findings.
Illumina’s spatial technology is designed to enable whole-transcriptome profiling with cellular-level resolution across large tissue samples. It reportedly offers a capture area of 50 mm by 15 mm—nine times larger than existing platforms—with four times greater resolution. This expanded capacity allows researchers to analyze millions of cells per experiment, potentially improving the identification of rare cell populations and enhancing statistical robustness.
The collaboration will take place at the Broad Institute’s Spatial Technology Platform (STP), with sequencing conducted at Broad Clinical Labs. The project will focus on generating large-scale spatial datasets from hundreds of samples provided by Broad Institute researchers. Additionally, external research groups will gain early access to the technology through the Broad Institute’s STP pipeline, with the aim of accelerating research efforts across the broader scientific community.
Illumina’s new technology will be supported by the Illumina Connected Multiomics (ICM) platform, a multimodal analysis tool designed to handle various data types, including genomic, proteomic, spatial transcriptomic, epigenetic, and single-cell data. ICM aims to streamline data integration and visualization, helping researchers interpret complex biological datasets through interactive visualizations and advanced statistical analysis.
At the AGBT meeting, several research teams will present data showcasing the technology's capabilities:
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Pulmonary Fibrosis Research: TGen’s Nicholas Banovich, PhD, will present findings demonstrating how Illumina’s spatial technology has been used to identify molecular dysregulation in pulmonary fibrosis. Early analyses have revealed localized molecular changes linked to epithelial cell remodeling, potentially offering new therapeutic targets for slowing disease progression.
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3D Brain Mapping: Michal Lipinski, PhD, from the Broad Institute, will present research involving large-scale 3D reconstructions of mouse brains. The data, collected from 10 experiments conducted on a single slide, highlight the platform's capacity for efficient high-resolution tissue characterization while minimizing batch effects.
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Prostate Cancer Research: Jasmine Plummer, PhD, from St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, will discuss the use of high-resolution spatial sequencing to uncover changes in prostate tumor microenvironments. The study identified rare cell types associated with distinct disease states, which were not detectable through targeted approaches.
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Maternal Brain Research: Darren Segale, PhD, from Illumina, will share findings from a spatial transcriptomic study of pregnant mouse brains, revealing region-specific gene expression patterns associated with maternal behavior.
Illumina’s spatial platform is slated for commercial release in 2026 and is designed to integrate with existing Illumina sequencing systems, including the NextSeq and NovaSeq platforms. The company claims that the technology will offer enhanced scalability and cost-efficiency for large-scale spatial experiments.
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