Today, science and technology are expediting the process of understanding human evolution for researchers. As a step toward knowing the population better, scientists have found solutions in collecting relevant information about the human genetic matter by sequencing DNA/RNA, emphasizing the importance of data and its analysis.
Data has become a significant part of business and academic life in contemporary times. It assists human intelligence in manufacturing reliable products and services and concomitantly proves as an anchor for accurate analysis.
But foremost challenges with procuring statistical evidence are ensuring reliability, transparency, and quality, to direct the flow of further examination of the related study in the right manner.
One such organization that delivers on these research fundamentals is Biomcare, which is a contract research organization providing services of data analysis and DNA sequencing in the field of microbiome and microorganism studies.
Channelizing the company’s success with her leadership qualities and relevant experience in the area is its CEO Louise Thingholm, who is a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics along with past expertise in analyzing microbial data.
Let us read further to know more about Biomcare!
The Inception Story
Biomcare is a contract research organization that supports private companies and public institutions with DNA/RNA sequencing and data analysis. It was founded by four close friends who saw how the need for bioinformatic experts with experience in the specific needs of microbiome posed a holdback for companies and research organizations at large to harvest the value of new solutions for microbiome analysis.
They have a special focus on the microbial communities called microbiomes or microbiotas and the value available from next and third-generation sequencing for microbiome profiling.
Biomcare has established a platform for the identification of microbial biomarkers. The platform integrates statistical models that respect the special requirements of microbial data and thus ensures a highly robust analysis of diverse studies with diverse sizes, aim, and design.
Louise says, “We are 100% focused on the analysis of data generated to study microorganisms and microbiomes, using sequencing platforms, and are specialized in the specific bioinformatic and statistical requirements of this type of data.”
This necessitates the company to walk along with newer technological developments in the industry to leverage its position in the market.
Enhancing Reliability with Technology
The ability of both next and third-generation sequencing platforms to accurately and cost-effectively generate data on the DNA content of a sample is the key driver of developments in the field of microbiomics. Louise says, “It has taken many years to bring the wet-lab aspects of the platforms to a stage where they can be moved from research tools into healthcare and industry.”
The Next generation technology, also named massive parallel sequencing, has offered high-quality data for some years, while the third generation, long-read platforms, only now are reaching a technical and applicational level that allows them to move into a broader application.
These sequencing platforms provide unprecedented abilities to detect and quantify 100-1000s of microorganisms in a sample and omit the need for prior culturing. The solutions are fast and provide increased resolution and specificity for species and even strain to profile, as well as the ability to evaluate a microbial community’s functional capacity.
Insights About the Leader – Louise Thingholm
The CEO, Louise Thingholm, is the leading figure behind both the inception of Biomcare and the bioinformatic engine, as she has many years of experience in analyzing microbiome data across diverse fields and holds a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics. She has a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in molecular medicine, both from the University of Aarhus, thus giving her a solid knowledge of human health, medicine, and life science research.
As a leader, she is ensuring that the company is working towards achieving its short-term and long-term goals along with sticking to its core values.
Building with a Clear Mission and Vision
Biomcare is an agile team of researchers, academics, and analysts who all work towards one goal: bringing the value of microbiome insight forward to both academic, clinical, and commercial companies by removing the need for in-house experts in microbiome analysis.
While getting a sample sequencing is quite easy today via the many high-quality providers, harvesting the value from the generated data via proper, custom bioinformatics and statistical applications remain a bottleneck. Biomcare aims to make a difference here. Therefore, Louise remarks, “We pay special attention to the initial steps where the stones are laid for a successful microbiome endeavor and to the post-sequencing steps where data needs to be processed with attention to each customer’s specific needs.”
Biomcare believes that an enhanced understanding of both the symbiotic and dysbiotic microbiome will lead to solutions that promote health and wellbeing for both humans and the environment and, therefore, is working on current industrial questions to help them make the best of the market prospects.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
As discussed above, the sequencing platforms provide unprecedented opportunities for investigating the role of microbes in diverse areas. But the bioinformatics and statistical requirements pose a bottleneck and are a key holdback for many. Louise says, “We fill this gap with the right balance of established pipelines for cost-effective service and custom solutions as needed.”
Adding on, she says, “We have a special interest in the role of the microbiome for drug response, and engage where we can, to help elucidate how patients’ microbiomes affect the metabolism of ingested drugs and how this aspect should be considered along with other types of baseline data on participants in clinical trials.”
Advice to Entrepreneurs
When asked for her words of wisdom for the aspiring entrants in the industry, she said, “That is a difficult question. I would say, know your field, be sure you are passionate about it, and then trust your gut feeling as to how you and your team can make a difference. And be patient, it takes time, and you will see many ups and downs.”
Extending its Focus
The company is going to pay attention to two main things in the second half of 2022, which are
- Re-engaging their focus and further developing their platform for robust microbial biomarker detection to engage in new collaborations and further develop the statistical platform and encourage people who shared the interest and vision with the company.
- A cornerstone of Biomcare’s value proposition is our expertise in microbiome data analysis. Therefore, they are currently taking the first steps towards establishing an international bioinformatic workforce to complement their local experts, as the brightest people in the field are located across the globe.
Louis says, “We hope this move will improve our ability to stay in touch with the newest developments and engage the bright people.”
Growing with Customer Trust
“We used BiomCare to analyze fecal samples collected in a project assessing the role of diet in the development of the infant gut microbiota in Peru. We felt supported throughout the project by BiomCare, with Louise and the team going above and beyond to assist with any queries.
We were provided with regular updates on the status of our analysis, and all communications were clear and timely. The data was presented within accessible reports, making the results easy to interpret.”
We would strongly recommend BiomCare for any microbiome analysis.
-Megan Stanley (Ph.D. student, Loughborough University, UK)
“We used Biomcare to analyze paired human fecal samples from a clinical trial. The communication was swift, and the samples were rapidly analyzed. The bioinformatically handled data was neatly presented and accompanied by a detailed description of the statical analyses performed and how they could be interpreted. All in all, making the data easily accessible to also less experienced in the field of 16S sequencing. I can strongly recommend the company.”
-Sidsel Støj
M.D. Ph.D.
Next Story: https://insightscare.com/infinant-health-changing-the-trajectory-of-human-health-one-baby-at-a-time/
