The advent of long-read sequencing technologies, such as those from Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) and Oxford Nanopore, has revolutionized genomic research by enabling more accurate and contiguous genome assemblies. Unlike short-read sequencing methods, long reads span repetitive regions and structural variants, providing a more comprehensive view of complex genomes. This has led to significant advancements in understanding genetic diversity, evolutionary biology, and disease mechanisms.

By highlighting key advancements and challenges, this symposium aims to provide a broad overview of the current landscape of long-read sequencing and its impact on genome research, shedding light on future directions and potential breakthroughs in the field.

At this conference, you will:

• Obtain key insights into current landscape of long-read sequencing and its impact on genome research
• Learn about potential breakthroughs and future directions in the field of long-read sequencing

About Dr. Heng Li

Dr. Li is a distinguished bioinformatician whose laboratory has pioneered the development of sophisticated algorithms for sequence alignment, including BWA, minimap2, and chromap, as well as tools for sequence assembly and pangenome analysis, such as miniasm, hifiasm, hifiasm-meta, and minigraph. He studies advanced computational algorithms to solve practical biological problems and has also collaborated with multiple research groups and published work on the analysis of single-cell sequence data, chromosome conformation, cancer genomics, population genetics and species evolution.