Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Central Catholic High School
Lawrence, MA
Mentors:
Salome Maldonado & Connor Anderson
ӳý Technology Space
Aaliyah came to the ӳý Summer Scholars Program excited to contribute to a project where teamwork and technology come together to improve research at scale. She joined the ӳý Technology Space (BTS), a core facility that supports single-cell sequencing for labs across the institute. Her project focused on updating quality control (QC) practices for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) libraries — a critical step that ensures researchers can trust the results of downstream sequencing experiments.
Historically, BTS relied on older analyzers for QC, but these machines were becoming outdated and increasingly unreliable. Aaliyah worked alongside Antonio Martinez to evaluate three alternatives — the Agilent BioAnalyzer 2100, TapeStation 4200, and Fragment Analyzer 5200. Her goal was to determine which instrument provided the best balance of accuracy, reproducibility, cost, and efficiency for large-scale use.
Over the summer, Aaliyah gained hands-on training in pipetting techniques, aseptic handling, and molecular QC workflows. She shadowed staff through the entire 10X Genomics single-cell pipeline, from PBMC sample preparation to GEM generation, cDNA library construction, and sequencing. She then ran cDNA samples on each analyzer, recording fragment size distributions, concentration values, run times, and throughput. To validate her findings, she compared concentration outputs with Qubit fluorometer measurements.
Her work revealed that while the TapeStation 4200 offered the fastest turnaround, its variability was higher than the other instruments. The BioAnalyzer 2100 and Fragment Analyzer 5200 were the most reliable for fragment sizing, with the Fragment Analyzer emerging as the most cost-effective for high-throughput use. These findings will directly inform BTS’s recommendations for ӳý scientists, helping them choose QC methods that best suit their project needs.
Reflecting on her experience, Aaliyah said, “BSSP taught me how collaboration in science was essential for moving forward… Being part of a greater whole, even in a focused capacity, has been deeply rewarding.” Her contributions will strengthen BTS workflows and ensure that researchers across ӳý have access to consistent, high-quality data for their sequencing projects.
