Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) presents a complex genetic puzzle. While an estimated 40–60% of the disease is heritable, the genetic causes for up to 90% of patients remain unknown. How can researchers find the missing variants, like structural variations and repeat expansions, that are often invisible to standard sequencing methods?
In this webinar, Amy Easton, PhD, of Target ALS and Nina Gonzaludo, PhD, of PacBio discuss a large-scale global initiative designed to address this challenge. Discover how Target ALS is leveraging PacBio HiFi sequencing across thousands of diverse patient samples to create a comprehensive, open-access resource for the research community. Learn about their strategy to combine deep genetic data with clinical and environmental information to help accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic targets and biomarkers for ALS.
00:00 How HiFi sequencing helps solve challenges in neuroscience
12:09 Target ALS: a mission to accelerate research
19:04 The complex and global genetics of ALS
22:04 Why long-read sequencing is critical for ALS research
27:53 The ALS Global Research Initiative (AGRI)
34:40 Accessing the data: the Target ALS Data Engine
39:54 Q&A session
Subscribe for more insights from PacBio: youtube.com/@PacificBiosciences?sub_confirmation=1
Learn more about PacBio at pacb.com
Legal & Trademarks: Visit pacb.com/legal-and-trademarks
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) presents a complex genetic puzzle. While an estimated 40–60% of the disease is heritable, the genetic causes for up to 90% of patients remain unknown. How can researchers find the missing variants, like structural variations and repeat expansions, that are often invisible to standard sequencing methods?
In this webinar, Amy Easton, PhD, of Target ALS and Nina Gonzaludo, PhD, of PacBio discuss a large-scale global initiative designed to address this challenge. Discover how Target ALS is leveraging PacBio HiFi sequencing across thousands of diverse patient samples to create a comprehensive, open-access resource for the research community. Learn about their strategy to combine deep genetic data with clinical and environmental information to help accelerate the discovery of new therapeutic targets and biomarkers for ALS.
00:00 How HiFi sequencing helps solve challenges in neuroscience
12:09 Target ALS: a mission to accelerate research
19:04 The complex and global genetics of ALS
22:04 Why long-read sequencing is critical for ALS research
27:53 The ALS Global Research Initiative (AGRI)
34:40 Accessing the data: the Target ALS Data Engine
39:54 Q&A session
Subscribe for more insights from PacBio: youtube.com/@PacificBiosciences?sub_confirmation=1
Learn more about PacBio at pacb.com
Legal & Trademarks: Visit pacb.com/legal-and-trademarks
