Ahmed Moustafa | Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania & Co-Director Center for Microbial Medicine,
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Dr. Ahmed Moustafa is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He
is renowned for his leadership in the CHOP Microbiome Sequencing Core and co-directs the microbialARC initiative, focusing on establishing a comprehensive strain repository. With over a decade of experience, his research spans bacterial pathogenesis, microbe-microbe interactions, and microbial evolution.

Appearances:

Day 1: 28th October @ 16:00

Automating metagenomics and microbial genomics in a sequencing core: lessons from implementation

As sequencing demands grow, the CHOP Microbiome Sequencing Core must support diverse applications, from shotgun metagenomics and 16S amplicon sequencing to low-biomass clinical samples and large-scale bacterial and fungal isolate whole-genome sequencing, while maintaining low costs, rapid turnaround, and minimal contamination risk. This session explores how the team has implemented an automated, low-volume library-preparation workflow to enable miniaturized, low-volume library preparation with walk-away automation. We will share early workflow successes, lessons learned during implementation, and our vision for a fully integrated, end-to-end sequencing pipeline. Adam Hall, Field Applications Scientist at SPT Labtech, will also be available to discuss technical considerations and lessons applicable to similar core facilities.

Ahmed Moustafa, Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania & Co-Director Center for Microbial Medicine,, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Adam Hall, Field Application Scientist, SPT Labtech