I have both bachelors and masters degrees in cell and molecular biology and I have a passion for virology, immunology, infectious disease and forensics. I’ve been involved in business development for the past 10 years working in senior roles with Bio-Rad, Qiagen and currently, Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to leaving the lab, I served as senior molecular biologist for the US Department of Defense’s Global Influenza Surveillance Program from 2006 -2011.

Articles by Jason Garner

Kits And Reagents For Mammalian Cell Transfection

Kits And Reagents For Mammalian Cell Transfection

Transfection of animal cells has proven an invaluable tool in studies of gene expression, cell behavior, cell processes and molecular genetics. Essentially, transient pores are opened within the cell’s lipid bilayer, allowing insertion of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, siRNA, RNAi), proteins, nanoparticles, and even antibodies into the cellular milieu. Transfection can be achieved using many…

The Advanced User’s Guide to Sequencing Alignment Software

The Advanced User’s Guide to Sequencing Alignment Software

Whether you’re employing sequencing gels, Sanger-based methods, or the latest in pyrosequencing or ion torrent technologies, obtaining, manipulating and analyzing your sequences has never been easier. Depending on what your goals are, you need to understand the pros and cons of the software. There is a lot of software out there, so do you your…

The Beginners Guide to DNA Sequence Alignment

The Beginners Guide to DNA Sequence Alignment

Fortunately, those of us who have learned how to sequence know that aligning sequences is a lot easier and less time consuming than creating them. Whether you’re employing sequencing gels, Sanger-based methods, or the latest in pyrosequencing or ion torrent technologies, obtaining, manipulating and analyzing your sequences has never been easier. We’re going to take…

Film vs. Digital: A Real Western (Blotting) Showdown

Film vs. Digital: A Real Western (Blotting) Showdown

You’ve masterfully run and transferred your gel, and now it’s time to probe and quantify your protein(s). You’ve got your antibodies and ECL ready to go. Substrate – check. Film cartridge – check. Darkroom – ah yes, that magical place where night vision goggles are required to navigate a veritable minefield of potential chaos. It…