NEW YORK – Qiagen announced on Tuesday that it has formed a collaboration with McGill University's Centre for Microbiome Research.
Spanning three years, the collaboration will focus in part on DNA extraction from samples with low microbial biomass and culturing protocols for anaerobes.
Qiagen will support the center with research reagents for a variety of microbiology and genomics workflows, the firm said in a statement, and also contribute to joint research projects demonstrating the suitability of its products for microbiome science. Additional terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.
Qiagen said the collaboration will strengthen its presence in microbiome research across North America and help understand the needs of the scientific community studying microbes. The center will also function as a beta-testing and optimization site for the development of new Qiagen microbiome products.
"This collaboration will enhance our ability to develop new microbiome solutions based on customer feedback and support the scientific community in uncovering new insights into the microbiome's impact on health and disease," Nitin Sood, senior VP and head of life sciences at Qiagen, said in a statement.
Qiagen formed a similar partnership earlier this year with Penn State University.