FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Locations

Computational Biology Core
Main Location:
Engineering and Sciences Building (ESB), Rm. 206D
67 North Eagleville Road Unit 3258
Storrs, CT 06269-3258
Satellite Location:
400 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030

Center for Genome Innovation
Main Location:
Engineering and Sciences Building (ESB), Rm. 306A
67 North Eagleville Road Unit 3197
Storrs, CT 06269-3197
Satellite Location:
400 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030-6403

HOURS: 9:30am - 5:00pm

1. What are the costs associated with the use of the facilities?

Computational Biology Core:
Use of the CBC's HPC facility (accounts, software, hardware, and server storage) are available free of charge to affiliates of the University of Connecticut.  For analytical services for data related to RNA-Seq, ChiP-Seq, Genome Assembly, and much more - please see our offerings and their related rates available on the this page.  To initiate a project with the CBC, please submit a request here.

Center for Genome Innovation:

A full list of services will be posted to the Fee-for-Services page can be found here. If you have questions or would like more information about any of the services provided by the CGI, contact Bo Reese. 

    2. How should the facilities be acknowledged in resulting manuscripts and grant applications?

    Computational Biology Core and Center for Genome Innovation:

    Researchers are required to acknowledge the Computational Biology Core, Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut AND/OR Center for Genome Innovation, Institute for Systems Genomics, University of Connecticut in all publications and grant applications that are enabled by the facilities' resources and services, or include contributions by the facility members.  Please include the facility scientists and/or staff as co-authors when they provide a significant intellectual contribution to the published research. 

    Please follow these guidelines for determining authorship:

    3. Do you have text that I can use for the facilities portion of my grant proposal?

    Computational Biology Core and Center for Genome Innovation: 

    The following text can be used in proposals to describe the current facilities and staff members.

    4. How do I request a letter of support?

    You can request a letter of support from one or both (including the Proteomics & Metabolomics Core) from the following form.  Please place this request at least three days before the due date of the grant application.

    5. What type of data storage is available to users?

    Computational Biology Core: 

    To protect against hardware failures, the CBC provides archival (redundant) storage for data on the Xanadu cluster (please note that this excludes temp and scratch spaces). Data archiving for long term storage is also available.  Despite redundancy, data integrity is the responsibility of the user and we probably cannot help you if you accidentally delete or otherwise corrupt your data. You should ensure an additional copy of critical data is maintained offsite.

    Center for Genome Innovation:

    If the CGI is generating data for you, please speak with your contact there about the method of delivery and/or how long it will be stored as this depends on the service and instrument.

    Center for Computational Biology Only

    1. Can I get CBC support from the UCHC?

    Yes, please use the contact-us form for a consultation appointment or request a project quote to setup an appointment to meet.  At the moment, all consults are being held remotely.

    2. I have a class that I would like to teach, can I use the cluster for this?

    Currently, we offer the Xanadu cluster for courses and workshops.  Before you begin the workshop/course, please fill out this form to request resources.

    We will provide an account page for your course and a dedicated queue/partition on the server (mcbstudent).

    3. Which server should I request an account from for research purposes?

    Using this form you can request an account on the Xanadu cluster. After completing it, you will receive a second form from the UCHC HPC team.  After approval of both, you will be able to access the system.

    4. Where can I find information on the Xanadu cluster?

    Detailed guides for the cluster is available on our Tutorials page:

    Xanadu Information

    5. What bioinformatic support resources are available to me?

    The CBC offers open office hours once a month.  These sessions are open to everyone and the topic of focus changes each time, but is often open.

    We have a Slack group (uconn-cbc.slack.com) that provides a forum for users to ask us and other core users questions about software or analysis.  This channel is open to anyone with a UCHC or UCONN e-mail address.

    We host several tutorials for common informatic workflows here and we run workshops monthly based on those tutorials.

    Additionally all UCONN affiliates are welcome to setup a consultation with a member of the CBC at anytime.  To request an appointment, please do so here.

    5. What if I need to request more time for a job that is running?

    Please contact us at cbcsupport@helpspotmail.com with your jobid to request more time.

    Center for Genome Innovation-Specific

    1. When is the Center for Genome Innovation open?

    Bo Reese and Lu Li have offices in the main laboratory (ESB) of the CGI, with either one or both of them present in the Center between 9:30am and 5:00pm. 

    2. Can anyone use the instrumentation in the CGI?

    With the appropriate training, anyone can use the instrumentation in the CGI. Depending on the instrumentation, the extent of training can range from a brief, one-on-one informal session to a three day workshop with other individuals. For example, training on the Agilent Bioanalyzer can be done in a one-on-one informal session, while usage of all NextGen sequencing instrumentation requires participation in a three day workshop or a one-on-one individual training.  Even after training, users can request supervision if they are not comfortable working independently.

    3. How do I reserve time to use the instruments in the CGI?

    All equipment in the CGI is accompanied by a Google Calendar sign-up sheet. You can check the reservation schedule online by contacting either Bo Reese or Lu Li for access to the Google Calendars. Due to high usage volume of most of the equipment, we ask that individuals adhere to the schedules and cancel any reservations if they are no longer needed.

    4. How do I determine which Next Generation Sequencing platform is best for my experimental needs?

    If you are not sure what sequencing methodology and analysis is appropriate to your question, we would be happy to schedule a free consultation to discuss it!