
Developing ctDNA strategy & Epigenomics methods at @astrazeneca. NGS & Dx expert and 'omics fan. Developer of @Enseqlopedia, ex-@CRUK_CI. Views are all mine.
Cambridge
Joined February 2011
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James Hadfield retweeted
I just sequenced a human genome to 30× coverage entirely at home.
As far as I know, this is the first time this has been done.
I didn’t step foot in a lab once. Every step - from saliva collection, to running the sequencer - took place in a single room with a dining table + kitchenette.
Six weeks ago, I had never done wet lab biology before.
I used an Oxford Nanopore P2 Solo - the only commercially available sequencing device portable enough to do 30x human genome sequencing at home.
Biggest takeaway - I could build something that combined software, hardware, and molecular biology far faster than I thought was possible.
I can name >100 specific instances where AI helped me solve a technical problem that would previously have blocked me because I lacked access to a domain expert.
For example: how do I save my sequencing run when my DNA extraction yield is 4x lower than I need it to be, and I have this limited set of reagents to hand?
To make this work, I had to navigate multiple disciplines:
- writing software to monitor sequencing runs and orchestrate remote GPU infra for basecalling
- learning + executing 5 hour long molecular biology protocols
- building a hardware device to quantify DNA concentration
Apologies for the hyperbole, but I feel super lucky to be living in 2026.
A few weeks ago I decided to sequence a human genome to 30x at home.
Then I actually did it. And I did it really quickly.
James Hadfield retweeted
Long time since I posted but here's a link to my new 'haystack': coregenomics.substack.com/su…
James Hadfield retweeted
MiSeq i100 1000 cycle (2x500) kits coming soon #AGBT25
James Hadfield retweeted
Billy Bragg on banning Israel from Eurovision: "Russia was banned.. after the invasion of Ukraine & I think if we have one rule for the Ukrainians and another rule for the Palestinians, it starts to look like we only care about white skinned people and not brown skinned people"
James Hadfield retweeted
A year before the Little Rock Nine, Bobby Cain helped integrate Southern schools
edition.pagesuite.com/popove…
James Hadfield retweeted
Surely there is a synthetic biology route to this, right @SynBio1 ?
James Hadfield retweeted
The models from DeepVariant (and friends) have shown how not everything needs to be Illumina reads out there to squeeze all the signal in the data. Another example here for Roche SBX Duplex data, the technology that will become commercially available in 2026.
I'll be speaking in this webinar (go.roche.com/sbx-d) on September 10, where I'll share our benchmarks and observations for Roche's SBX sequencing instrument, as well as models developed by our team for SBX data.
James Hadfield retweeted
Hopeful that because the front cover has a DNA strand we’ll see more on genomic medicine
As someone who is involved in sorting this out in our region, I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to deliver tangible benefits for patients (with the right funding!! 😂)
James Hadfield retweeted
I saw the title and said “Stupid Flanders!” - then saw the author had gone above and beyond with the intro
#eshg2025
James Hadfield retweeted
Really good read! I always just think about this from a customer’s point of view. I learned a lot! Thanks! @illumina
James Hadfield retweeted
🧧🧧🧧🧧 So another exciting finding for the weekend before I go on vacation.
*FFPE Ligation Sequencing for ALL!*
For a long while it was thought that ligation (i.e. native DNA) sequencing on @nanopore was difficult, if not impossible, because the DNA blocks the pores and it wouldn't give a whole genome with decent coverage - really important for access to historical clinical trial samples.
James Hadfield retweeted
65,000 UK companies are unlawfully hiding their beneficial owner. We've just published an interactive map showing them all.
Thread:
James Hadfield retweeted
Sound up please. Meet Maj Gen Jeannie Leavitt. She was the FIRST EVERY female fighter pilot.
The women beating unqualified Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, has ordered the removal of every image of Maj Gen Leavitt removed from the Pentagon.
Can someone tell me how this spiteful misogynistic act helps in the defense of America? It simply makes America look small out of touch and frankly absurd. Let’s compare their military records shall we?
Pete Hegseth military service was unremarkable he served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard. He deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His military awards include two Bronze Stars and two Army Commendation Medals
His final act of dishonor, beyond the assault of his partner, was to be forced to stand down from Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America—in the face of serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety, and personal misconduct.
I didn’t have enough space to provide Maj Gen Leavitt’s achievements, so here’s a link.
militaryhallofhonor.com/hono…
Friends, let’s send a message to this piece of shit excuse for a man, by making this image go viral today, so Maj Gen Leavitt gets the message, she’s a hero to all of us.
James Hadfield retweeted
📺Missed it last night? Catch Prof Jason Carroll on @BBCLookEast discussing Cambridge’s global science community. 🌍🧬
"We want to cure cancer, we need the best and brightest people to do that, and we don't really care where they come from."
bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0…
James Hadfield retweeted
A new twin study has strengthened the link between tattoos and cancer risk.
For tattoos larger than a palm:
🔺 137% higher risk of skin cancer (HR = 2.37)
🩸 173% higher risk of lymphoma (HR = 2.73)
Let’s break it down 🧵 1/11
James Hadfield retweeted
"Passage de Vénus" is a series of photographs of the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun on December 9, 1874. They were purportedly taken in Japan by the French astronomer Jules Janssen and Brazilian engineer Francisco Antônio de Almeida using Janssen's 'photographic revolver'.
James Hadfield retweeted
Another superb contribution here - if you missed today’s Roche call well worth a look.
Roche Xpounds on New Sequencing Technology - my coverage of the new Roche SBX sequencing technology
omicsomics.blogspot.com/2025…































