Monrovia, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/28/2010 -- Stephen Turner, Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Pacific Biosciences to speak at GTCbio’s 5th Assay and Drug Discovery Technologies on Sept. 20-21, 2010 in San Diego, CA.

Stephen Turner will give a presentation on “Applications of SMRT™ sequencing outside the performance envelope of first and second generation sequencing.” at 5th Assay and Drug Discovery Technologies Conference to be held this year in San Diego, CA Sept. 20-21, 2010 by GTCbio. DNA polymerases possess performance characteristics far beyond what first and second generation sequencing technologies have achieved. Through the use of phospholinked nucleotides, the natural power of these enzymes has been harnessed by Pacific Biosciences for single-molecule, real-time (SMRT™) DNA sequencing, which exhibits long read lengths, high speed and thus fast time to results. This presentation will demonstrate the agility of the DNA sequencing system Pacific Biosciences uses, and compare the technique to Illumina.

Dr. Turner founded Pacific Biosciences (formerly Nanofluidics) and secured its Series A funding in 2004. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Physics by Cornell University in 2000, where he worked with Prof. Harold Craighead to study the behavior of biomolecules in nano-fabricated structures. His work contributed to the establishment of the Nanotechnology Center at Cornell. He was a member of the project team at Cornell which developed the technology now employed by Pacific Biosciences and was co-author of the cover story in Science magazine (January 31, 2003) that introduced the technology to the scientific community. Dr. Turner's undergraduate work was at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics, Electrical Engineering and Physics. He is the author of over 30 scientific papers in fields ranging from nanofluidics, genetics, cell attachment to chemically- and topographically- modified surfaces, x-ray lithography and process modeling. He is listed as the inventor on nine U.S. patents and more than 20 published patent applications. Dr. Turner was recipient of the MIT Technology Review "TR100" Award in 2003 and the University of Wisconsin Madison Distinguished Young Alumnus Award in 2008. He is a sitting member of the National Institutes of Health grant review study section on new technologies. He oversees the scientific and technical direction of Pacific Biosciences and is a member of its Board of Directors.

Also presenting at the Assay and Drug Discovery Technologies are prestigious organizations including Burnham Medical Research Institute, Pfizer, UCSF, AstraZeneca, UCLA, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, Johnson & Johnson, Nexigen GmbH, University of Pennsylvania, Roche, UCD, Abbott, Merck, Novartis (GNF), and other leaders in the Assay and Drug Discovery Technologies industry.

5th Assay and Drug Discovery Technologies Conference features a mixture of academic, industry and public sector experts in an intimate setting that favors the showcase of data, the exchanges of ideas and networking. Professionals in the drug discovery industry and academics to can get an update of exciting new developments in assay technologies and exchange ideas in developing creative approaches in the drug discovery and development process to improve the efficiency and output. For more information, visit http://www.gtcbio.com.