Stephan Lorenz, PhD

Dr. Lorenz graduated in Biochemistry at the University of Leipzig, where he investigated the role of GPCR kinases in the regulation of GPCR activity. He then joined the laboratory of Prof Ralf Paschke in Leipzig for his PhD, studying calcium-binding proteins and their role in benign thyroid tumours. He joined the Single Cell Centre at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge in 2013 to develop novel single-cell whole-genome amplification methods in the group of Thierry Voet. A year on, he started to build and manage one of the first core facilities focussed on high-throughput single-cell genome and transcriptome sequencing. He and his team developed methods to rapidly process thousands of cells per experiment using high-end automation to achieve high throughput and to minimize assay volumes and cost. He also managed teams for custom and third-generation sequencing, contributing to international projects such as the “Human Cell Atlas” and “Tree of Life”. In 2018, he joined Sidra Medical and Research as Director of the Integrated Genomics Services, where he uses his background to enable more cost-effective, rapid and robust sequencing solutions, thus supporting important initiatives like the Qatar Precision Medicine Institute, but also enabling the use of cutting-edge sequencing technologies in a clinical setting for diagnostics and Precision Medicine. In this role, he is overseeing the activities of Genomics, Omics as well as the Applied Bioinformatics Core and the Zebrafish Core Facilities, and developing new platforms for large-scale biorepositories.

Next-Generation Sequencing, lab automation, process improvement

Clinical Genomics Laboratory