Dr. Tomer Altman: Primer Design for SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostics

Dr. Tomer Altman explains what primers and probes are in the context of PCR tests for detecting pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 when someone is infected with COVID-19. He explains the issues he found in the original CDC primer and probe designs, as well as his thoughts on what may have caused the issues. He then walks us through how these sequences are designed, giving a very clear tutorial of the bioinformatic design of oligonucleotide sequences for diagnostics use. For more information, please see https://tomeraltman.net/2020/03/03/technical-problems-COVID-primers.html and https://tomeraltman.net/2020/03/11/COVID-19-candidate-primers-update.html

Om Podcasten

Hear from the leading experts in bioinformatics and other closely related fields. Topics discussed include computational biology, biotechnology, computer science, genetics, synthetic biology, math, statistics, and more. You can also find discussions on topics related to the scientific career field. For example, exploring career path options in science, or highlighting important skill sets such as writing and public speaking.