Chan Zuckerberg Initiative joins SCALE BIO's 100 Million Cell Challenge” to accelerate single-cell genomics research

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative joins SCALE BIO's 100 Million Cell Challenge” to accelerate single-cell genomics research

Scale Biosciences (Scale BIO), a leading provider of innovative and scalable single cell analysis solutions, today announced that it has joined the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) as a partner in the groundbreaking 100 Million Cell Challenge. CZI will fully subsidize support for the 50 million cell awarded projects. This partnership follows an overwhelming response to the challenge. Researchers promise to analyze over 100 million cells within days of the initial announcement.

The “100 Million Cell Challenge,” launched last month, aims to push the boundaries of single-cell genomics research by funding large-scale projects in diverse biological systems. With the support of CZI and other program collaborators, Ultima Genomics and Nvidia, the initiative is poised to have an even greater impact on the scientific community, increasing our understanding of complex biological systems and catalyzing new discoveries from basic research to translational medicine.

“Scale BIO’s visionary “100 Million Cell Challenge” aligns with our efforts to support the individual cell research community and create essential resources that accelerate science,” said Jonah Cool, senior program officer of Cell Science, at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. “We are excited to support scientists participating in this groundbreaking challenge and make publicly available this research from Gene Discover in Chan Zuckerberg Cell, a tool that allows researchers to explore and gain new insights from cellular data.” CZI will also use this data to contribute to a knowledge base for building AI virtual cells to help scientists study the molecular basis of human health and disease.

Giovanna Prout, CEO of Scale Bio, expressed her enthusiasm for the partnership: "CZI's commitment to this challenge not only confirms the importance of large single-cell studies, but also significantly expands the scope of what researchers can achieve. Cell Challenge, Scale Bio and our collaborators hope to catalyze discoveries that could reshape precision medicine and our understanding of complex biological systems."

The scientific community responded with overwhelming interest, submitting 40 projects spanning a wide range of research disciplines. The submitted projects demonstrate the breadth and depth of potential applications for large-scale single-cell analysis. Researchers have proposed studies ranging from creating comprehensive atlases of diverse organ systems to studying cellular heterogeneity in disease states and exploring cross-breeding comparisons in regenerative processes.

The “100 Million Cell Challenge” is enabled by Scale BIO's new quantum-scale technology, a single-cell RNA sequencing solution that can process up to 2 million cells per run. This new workflow should empower researchers to pursue ambitious, large-scale single-cell omics projects by offering unparalleled library preparation efficiency, high-level data quality, and low cost.

The challenge remains to accept proposals by midnight PDT on October 15, 2024. Projects that propose to analyze 1 million cells or more may be considered. Selected projects will be announced at the American Society of Human Genetics (Ashg) Annual Meeting in November 2024.

To provide more information about the 100 Million Cell Challenge, skala bio will host a live web broadcast with collaboration representatives. This event offers researchers the opportunity to learn more about the challenge, the application process and project selection. To register for the live webcast at 11:30 a.m. PDT on September 24, 2024, please visit bit.ly/100mcell-Webcast.

For more information about the “100 Million Cell Challenge” and a suggestion, see skala.bio/100MillionCells.

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