Speed – Twice as fast

Speed is critical to scientific discovery. Many NextGen machines take as much as eight days to collect data, and another week or so to analyze the data.  As a result, many sites are getting only 12 to 16 turns on a sequencer machine per year, resulting in slow experimental iteration and time to publication. Speed is particularly critical as sequencing technology moves from the research lab to the clinic, where decisions need to be made in hours, not days.


When a sequencer is only producing a run every week or two, a sample prep process that takes two days doesn’t seem unreasonable. However, now that sequencing data comes off of an Ion PGM sequencer in just five minutes and a run can be completed in two hours, sample prep has become the primary bottleneck to enabling faster experiment iteration.


This challenge requires participants to prepare a sample from blood, saliva or bacteria and halve the current record sample prep time set by technicians in Ion Torrent’s labs. Currently, the Ion Torrent record is about 10 hours if each step was done back-to-back with a pause, using all the best processes. Selected entrants will compete head to head with an Ion Torrent team running the then current Ion Torrent protocol.


Solvers need access to commercially available PGM and Torrent Server to develop and test their proposed solution. Solvers must prep three replicates of the same sample in parallel using a single person.


The winning solver must beat the 4 hour mark – sample to first sequence, or lesser of ½ of Ion’s best time.  Additional detail on how winning solutions will be determined will be made available after official challenge registration.


Submission Details

A successful entry to the Speed Challenge will include:

  • Written protocol submitted to Innocentive, Life Technologies’ open innovation platform provider, with detailed descriptions of the necessary protocol and time estimates for completing the described.
  • One Torrent Server Report file, uploaded to Innocentive, per run from both human and bacterial genomic DNA.


Register Now



All submitted protocols will be evaluated by InnoCentive to determine if the solution is valid and reasonable. Solvers will viable solutions that exceed the 2X performance threshold will be invited to a Life Grand Challenge Event, which will be scheduled at a date/time and neutral location determined by Life Technologies. Attendance at the in-person event is mandatory in order to win the $1M prize. Solvers will be asked to demonstrate their solution before a panel of world-renowned scientists.