Strengthening New Generation sequencing (NGS) capabilities for hepatitis C surveillance in Georgia


A) Objective: The project aims to establish a Global Regional Laboratory for Hepatitis Outbreak Surveillance Technologies (GHOST) based on the Genome Center of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Tbilisi, Georgia). The project will strengthen the potential of the NCDC / Lugar Center. For effective implementation of hepatitis transmission routes and molecular surveillance, this technology will allow mapping the molecular epidemiology of hepatitis C in Georgia. The Genome Center will become GHOST's Regional Technology Laboratory, and all data will be uploaded to GHOST's global database. B) Ways to implement the project:
The project will use clinical samples provided by the Tbilisi Scientific Research Center for AIDS and Clinical Immunology and other laboratories participating in the Hepatitis C Eradication Program.
The project will include:
• Hepatitis C virus HVR1 regions (hypervariable region 1) and NS5B regions (non-structural region 5B). Deep Sequencing is a next-generation sequestration platform based on MiSeq.
• A regional GHOST technology laboratory will be established at the Lugar Center. The laboratory will work closely with the CDC working group focused on the Hepatitis C Eradication Program in the United States (Department of Viral Hepatitis, Molecular Epidemiology and Bioinformatics, CDC Atlanta)
• GHOST technology has been developed for the next-generation Illumina sequencing system, which is the main platform for the NCDC/Lugar Center. Therefore, the Genome Center has created all the conditions for the implementation of the project.
• The technology provides identification and analysis of new recombinant forms of hepatitis C in Georgia.
C) Expected results: mastering GHOST technology


Project implementation dates: 01/07/17-30/06/18


Budget: $22,000


The person responsible for the implementation of the project: Adam Kotorashvili