Adapting Fluidigm’sMicrofluidic GE Platform for a Test for SARS-CoV-2 by Joel Guthridge, PhD

In this talk, we present our experiences in the rapid development and deployment of a SARS-CoV-2 high-throughput screening platform. This platform utilizes the microfluidics solutions from Fluidigm to expand testing in Oklahoma and surrounding states.  Our OMRF Human Phenotyping Core has had a longstanding relationship with Fluidigm, starting with the C1 single cell solutions and BiomarkHD/Juno platforms for targeted transcriptomic and SNP variant analyses. This interaction further expanded in November of 2019 to include the Hyperion/Helios platforms for suspension cell and tissue mass cytometry. Over  an approximate 4 week period beginning in late March, OMRF scientists have worked closely with Fluidigm’s R&D group from the Microfluidics Division and the clinical staff at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and Medical Centers to refine the use of the IDT CDC SARS-CoV-2 assay on the Fluidigm Juno/BiomarkHD RT-qPCR gene expression platform expanding testing options. This collaborative arrangement enabled the rapid build-out of laboratory space, relocation of equipment and re-training of personnel on the Fluidigm equipment, integration of robotic solutions for key repetitive error-prone steps, deployment of a custom LIMS suitable for high-throughput screening deployment in a CLIA/CAP High-Complexity Laboratory environment and validation of the IDT CDC SARS-CoV-2 assay on the Fluidigm platform.  The Oklahoma COVID-19 PCR Test EUA application filed with the FDA by the third week of the collaboration and is pending FDA approval. However, testing of screening samples has started and is expected to ramp up to over 2,000 samples per day in the current configuration. Limitations are only due to logistical constraints (space, data collection/reporting issues. We will discuss our vision for the scalability of this platform within the CLIA/CAP clinical laboratory environment for the expanding testing needed in the Midwestern region of the US.

Systems-level immune dynamics from acute to recovery phase of severe COVID-19 by Petter Brodin, MD, PhD

Severe COVID-19 is characterized by dramatic immune system activation and inflammation. Several studies to modulate the immune response and limit immunopathology are ongoing. To better understand the natural course of severe COVID-19, we have applied systems-level immune monitoring of 39 COVID-19 patients, sampling them up to 12 times from admission through intensive care and recovery. These studies have revealed several modules of coregulated cell populations and coordinated changes in plasma protein levels. The studies describe a shared trajectory during the course of the disease. We have also found a previously unappreciated role of eosinophils during the course of disease, and we investigated the determinants of productive antibody responses.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn what solutions and offerings Fluidigm can provide to advance COVID-19 research

2. Learn how customers are using our solutions to advance COVID-19 research