Join a conversation about different types of roles in biotech, through the experience of Joyee Yao, a next-generation sequencing specialist, at Complete Genomics. After joining a research lab as an undergrad volunteer, Joy decided to join the next-generation sequencing (NGS) space as a technical specialist before pivoting into the sales space. What is NGS? Previously termed massively parallel sequencing, NGS technology can identify the sequence of DNA or RNA for MANY strands at once instead of simply one strand at a time. This means, scientists can use NGS to exame sequences of thousands of genes at once to try and identify which one could contain a mutation that could be making a person sick. NGS technology isn’t limited to just DNA sequencing; this high-throughput technology can also be used to quantify mRNA. mRNA is what is translated into proteins; for many genes, the amount of mRNA made from a gene correlates to the amount of protein made from that same gene. Just like that, we have access to massive amounts of data that can tell us about our genes, and the implications held in the proteins they encode. Almost twenty years since the commercialization of NGS technology, we are continuing to see novel developments and improvements in the applications of NGS - ChIP-seq, Single-nucleus sequencing, spatial transcriptomics to name a few. And today, I am excited to talk to Joyee Yao, sequencing solution specialist at Complete Genomics, about her experience working in the NGS industry space over the past decade.