#PromegaWorks

Descriptions of Promega products in action from examples of Promega products in the peer-reviewed literature to technical tips on how to address common laboratory and experimental questions

Decades of Discovery: How the NCI-60 Revolutionized Cancer Drug Screening

Posted on by Kendra Hanslik

The National Cancer Institute’s NCI-60 drug screening panel, comprised of 60 diverse human cancer cell lines, has been a cornerstone in advancing cancer research and drug discovery since its inception in the late 1980s. Developed in response to the need for more predictive and comprehensive preclinical models, the NCI-60 facilitates the screening of thousands of compounds annually, aiming to identify potential anti-cancer drugs across a broad spectrum of human cancers. This article traces the origins, development, and evolution of the NCI-60 panel, highlighting its significant role in advancing our understanding of cancer and therapeutic agents.  

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Raising Frogs Takes a Village: Accelerating Amphibian Research at the Marine Biological Laboratory

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva
Sally Seraphin and her students Maliah Ryan (second from right) and Jude Altman (right) work with a Promega Applications Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory

Sally Seraphin’s life in the research lab started with rats and roseate terns. Chimpanzees and rhesus macaques came next, then humans (and a brief foray into voles). When she pivoted to red-eyed tree frogs, Sally once again had to learn all kinds of new techniques. Suddenly, in addition to new sample prep and analysis techniques, she needed to get up to speed on amphibian care and husbandry. That led her to the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA.

“It’s a seaside resort atmosphere with experts in every technology you can imagine,” Sally says. “It’s a place to incubate and birth new approaches to answering questions.”

Sally spent the past two summers at MBL learning everything she needed to know about breeding and caring for amphibians. During that time, she also worked closely with Applications Scientists from Promega who helped her start extracting RNA from frog samples.

“The hands-on support from industry scientists is definitely unique to Promega and MBL,” she says. “It’s rare to have a specialist on hand who can help you learn, troubleshoot and optimize in such a finite amount of time.”

Adopting a New Model Organism

Sally uses red-eyed tree frogs to study early stress and developmental timing.
Sally uses red-eyed tree frogs to study early stress and developmental timing. Photo from Wikimedia.

Sally studies how early stress impacts brain and behavior development. She hopes to deepen our understanding of how adverse childhood experiences connect to mental illness and bodily disease later in life. In the past, she studied how factors such as parental absence affected the neurotransmission of dopamine in primates. Recently, she changed her focus to developmental timing.  

“Girls who are exposed to early trauma like sexual or physical abuse will sometimes reach puberty earlier than girls who aren’t,” Sally explains. “And I noticed that there are many species that will alter their developmental timing in response to predators or social and ecological threats.”

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Uniting Diverse Minds, Vibrant Ideas, and Collaborative Spirit at the 2023 Biologics Symposium

Posted on by Shannon Sindermann
Biologics Symposium

On Thursday November 9th, 2023, Promega held its 7th Biologics Symposium at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge. For the first time, participants had the option to attend the event either in person or experience it via live stream, creating an inclusive and dynamic environment where the latest breakthroughs and ideas could be showcased. Moreover, the event was organized into a morning and afternoon session, enabling ample time for networking and the exchange of ideas beyond formal presentations.

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Custom in vitro Transcription Reagents for Manufacturing RNA Therapeutics

Posted on by AnnaKay Kruger
Doctor filling syringe

Research into vaccines based on RNA began decades ago when scientists theorized that they could harness RNA to produce viral proteins within a cell, prompting a protective immune response. RNA vaccine research drew scientists’ attention during the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, which opened the door for research targeting other diseases with RNA-based therapeutics.

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From D.O.O.R.S. Scholar to Promega Scientist

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva
Jazmin Santiesteban is a Formulations Scientist at Promega and a former D.O.O.R.S. Scholar

What do you wear to a job interview at a biotechnology company? How should your resume be formatted? What questions do you ask to ensure the role is a good fit?

“My mentor guided me through job applications, including helping me identify the things that were important to me in a job,” says Jazmin Santiesteban. “While we were talking about those things, she asked if I would be interested in applying to Promega.”

Jazmin received the D.O.O.R.S. Scholarship in 2021, before her senior year at Lawrence University. That scholarship program helped Jazmin develop new skills and cultivate connections that eventually led her to a job at Promega after graduation.

“I love it so far,” she says. “I don’t know where my career may take me, but right now I want to build a longer future at Promega.”

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We’re Committing to 100% Renewable Electricity by 2025

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva
Solar panels on the roofs of Feynman Center, Kornberg Center, and the main Promega Madison parking structure

In 2021, we unveiled our most ambitious sustainability goals ever. These goals include a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, as indexed to revenue over a 2019 baseline.

In 2022, we announced that renewable sources provided over 20% of our global electricity usage.

This year, Promega is excited to announce that we’re committing to 100% renewable electricity by 2025.

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Custom Manufacturing: Translating Research into Product

Posted on by Natalie Larsen

Scientists around the world are focusing their energy and resources on translating advances made in clinical research into relevant biotechnology, clinical, and applied products that improve our health and well-being. Once research looks promising, there is substantial pressure to expedite the release of that product or assay in the market.

For many organizations focused on developing these advanced products, their expertise and core competencies are in developing the assay. Often, they do not have the experience, infrastructure, or quality systems in place to support large-scale production, packaging, or distribution of their newly developed assay in a way that is also in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements. These next steps become a barrier to realizing the value of the research. Working with a custom or contract manufacturing partner can lower this barrier and expedite the time to market.

Custom Manufacturing

Be careful not to confuse custom manufacturing with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products. OEM products are existing products from one company that another company rebrands and sells. Custom manufacturers typically focus on providing more comprehensive services that can be adapted to produce a new product. Custom manufacturing is not “one size fits all” and can be simple or complex, such as producing a single component to a final finished product.

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D.O.O.R.S. Scholars Day Gives Students a Look Inside Promega

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva
D.O.O.R.S Scholars Day
Chris Geo Provido, Divya Kashyap and Deborah Ola listen to presentations at D.O.O.R.S. Scholars Day

When six undergraduate students from across the country convened at Promega Madison to present their research, several of them were surprised to see Promega CEO Bill Linton in the audience.”

“I’ve never interacted with a biotechnology company like this, and then the CEO shows up,” says Valeria Sanchez Estrada. “We actually discussed ChatGPT and how AI and machine learning can advance biology research.”

Valeria, a second-year student from St. John’s University, was a 2022 recipient of the Diversification Of Our Research Scientists (D.O.O.R.S.) Scholarship, provided the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute and Promega North America. The scholarship provides ten students with a $5,000 award that can be used towards educational fees, books and supplies to support their scientific education. The scholarship is open to undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing a biotechnology-related major.

D.O.O.R.S Scholars Day
Several D.O.O.R.S. Scholars eat lunch with Promega scientists

On March 24, 2023, scholarship recipients were invited to Promega Madison for the first in-person D.O.O.R.S. Scholars Day. In addition to presenting their research, students had the opportunity to meet with Promega R&D scientists and tour the beautiful Kornberg Center. Overall, the event was a day of celebration and building connections between outstanding students and the biotechnology industry.

“I imagined industry just being about hard science and lab time,” says Chris Provido, a third-year student from Bowie State University. “But Promega’s values showed me today that although we’re all scientists, your humanity is just as important, and it’s important to find a balance between hard science and being human.”

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The Largest Maxprep Liquid Handler Installation Ever: Kigali Rwanda, 2022

Posted on by Jordan Villanueva

“It was just a sea of Promega everywhere,” says Rebecca Roberts, a Promega Field Applications Scientist. “Floor to ceiling, piled up with Maxwell instruments, Maxprep Liquid Handlers, all the accessories and consumables…”

In her role on the Field Application Scientists team, Rebecca travels the United States installing the Maxprep Liquid Handler in customer labs and training scientists to operate the system and incorporate it into their workflow. This instrument automates the pre- and post-processing steps in a nucleic acid purification workflow. It’s a large and sophisticated instrument that takes up roughly four feet of lab bench space and weighs up to 220 pounds. It is intended for research use only, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maxprep Liquid Handler, Maxwell RSC 48 Instrument, and several Maxwell purification kits were recommended for nucleic acid extraction protocols in the CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).  

When an instrument is sold, Rebecca and a Service Engineer spend three days on-site installing it and training a small group of staff to use it. One Maxprep instrument at a time is typical. On rare occasions, Rebecca might install two on a single trip. However, in 2022, Rebecca joined a multinational team of Promega scientists and engineers in Kigali, Rwanda for an order that was anything but typical.

Promega field applications scientists install a Maxprep Liquid Handler in a small room that already holds two more liquid handlers.
Field Application Scientists Rebecca Roberts, Ben Cooley and Lucy Swithenbank install a Maxprep Liquid Handler in Kigali, Rwanda

“We knew a large order from this customer was a possibility,” Rebecca says, “But I certainly wasn’t expecting an order of ten.”

This was the largest installation of Maxprep instruments Promega has ever seen from a single order. The customer also had a hard deadline that required delivery, installation and training to be complete in only six weeks – half the time usually quoted for a single instrument.

In the end, ten Maxprep instruments were installed at the National Reference Laboratory in Kigali, and more than twenty people were trained to use the systems for RNA extraction to support COVID-19 testing at a major international meeting. The order was a success, but that six week journey was a wild ride that depended on the hard work and dedication of Promega teams on both sides of the Atlantic.

And the impact of this work is still growing.

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Shifting Gears: Repurposing Instruments for Changing Needs

Posted on by AnnaKay Kruger
Sarah Teter operates the Tecan Freedom EVO 150 liquid handler
Sarah Teter operates the Tecan Freedom EVO 150

The thought of an expensive instrument falling out of use and gathering dust on the shelf is enough to bring a tear to any lab manager’s eye. An instrument that once served a key purpose and now functions only as a “paperweight” is a tragic waste of valuable resources. Fortunately, it is sometimes possible to breathe new life into neglected tools and to retrofit or repurpose equipment to meet the new needs that will inevitably arise in a changing lab environment.  

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