About Golden Helix

New Feature in VarSeq: Latest Sample Assessment Algorithm

Jan 26, 2021

In continuation of our blog posts focusing on new features of VarSeq v2.2.2, here we will discuss the Latest Sample Assessment algorithm for both single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and copy number variants (CNVS). This algorithm annotates the variants of the project with the latest assessment from your variant catalog, which…

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What You Need to Know About Staging Annotations

Jan 22, 2021

Annotating genomic variants is a very complex process but perhaps the most important part of next-generation sequencing variant analysis. Here at Golden Helix, we recognize the importance and value of having the most up-to-date sources available and curating new annotation sources as they become available for variant analysis. Golden Helix…

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VSClinical: Defining Sample Phenotypes

Jan 20, 2021

Our recent release of VarSeq 2.2.2 comes with a long list of upgrades and new features. In this blog post, we will demonstrate how defining sample phenotypes are available in VSClinical. One noticeable change is the ACMG guideline variant evaluation in VSClinical. Not only has this interface added CNV guideline…

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Webcast Recap: VSClinical: A Complete Clinical Workflow Solution

Jan 15, 2021

Didn’t catch the webcast live? No worries! We cover ‘VSClinical: A Complete Clinical Workflow Solution’ Q&A’s in this blog post. The webcast, ‘VSClinical: A Complete Clinical Workflow Solution’ demonstrated how solutions provided by Golden Helix can be implemented to cover all requirements of a clinical workspace. Specifically, this webcast focused…

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Golden Helix Featured in Numerous Publications 2020

Jan 12, 2021

Golden Helix continues to innovate and grow, and due to this, we have been garnering attention and praise. We are thrilled to share with you some of the accolades and interest from numerous publications from the last six months. Talking points ranged from diagnosing and tracking Covid-19 infections leveraging NGS…

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ACGS Guidelines Now Available in VSClinical

Jan 7, 2021

Golden Helix offers a market-leading bioinformatics solution that allows users to evaluate next-generation sequencing variants according to the ACMG and now ACGS guidelines. The ACMG guidelines were created in 2015 and are widely accepted as best practice for the interpretation of sequencing variants throughout the United States (Richard et al…

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Featured in The Journal of Precision Medicine: Golden Helix’s Recent Release for a New Workflow for Interpretating and Reporting Copy Number Variants in Concordance with the Recently Updated ACMG Guidelines: Introduction

Dec 28, 2020

Have you seen us in The Journal of Precision Medicine? Last week, our team released VarSeq 2.2.2 loaded with a number of updates and VSClinical’s highly-anticipated ACMG-CNV Guideline workflow! We have spent the past several months sharing webcasts and blogs on this new capability. We are honored to also have…

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Customer Publications Featuring VarSeq December 2020

Dec 23, 2020

Reading scientific articles that our customers have recently published is one of my favorite things here at Golden Helix. It is fascinating to learn about the research and to see the various ways our software gets put to the test.Since we are rolling out our most extensive VarSeq update yet,…

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Updated Annotations: RefSeq with MANE Select Transcripts

Dec 17, 2020

Our upcoming release of VarSeq is one of the largest we’ve ever had with our software! It comes with an extensive list of polishes and new features like our recently mentioned ACMG CNV classifier and a redesigned reporting interface with updated templates. Additionally, this new release is also paired with…

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Need Coverage Statistics? VarSeq Has You Covered!

Dec 15, 2020

Curious about how coverage statistics can be used in conjunction with VarSeq? Evaluating the coverage over target regions or whole genomes is essential whether you are working with variant or CNV analysis. VarSeq has had the capability to compute sample level coverage statistics for some time now, but in the…

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Adding Population Catalogs to VSClinical

Dec 10, 2020

Our previous webcast demonstrated some of the new functionalities of VSClinical, including the ability to add ACMG frequency sources for the ACMG BA1, BS1, and PM2 criteria. This new feature was spurred by the feedback from our users, which requested supporting frequency tracks other than gnomAD Exomes and 1kG Phase3.…

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Webcast Recap: Exploring New Features and Clinical Reports in the ACMG Guideline Workflow

Dec 3, 2020

Webcast Recap In the recent webcast “Exploring New Features and Clinical Reports in the ACMG Guideline Workflow”, Gabe and I took viewers through an evaluation with CNVs and SNVs according to the ACMG Guidelines where we generated and customized a clinical report. Along the way, we highlighted many new features…

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Loss-of-Function Splice Variant in MTHFR

Nov 26, 2020

In this blog post, I will be analyzing a loss-of-function splice variant in MTHFR using VarSeq. In the search for clinically relevant variants contributing to rare disorders, efficient filtering strategies are an important step in eliminating disinteresting variants. VarSeq supports end-to-end rare disease analysis, from panel-level filtering to clinical variant…

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Webcast Follow-up: Evaluating CNVs with VSClinical’s New ACMG Guidelines

Nov 19, 2020

In our previous webcast, Evaluating CNVs with VSClinical’s New ACMG Guidelines, we focused on a CNV deletion (12:27715515-29628122×1) in which the patient had a known disorder called Brachydactyly type E. The CNV was isolated using our VS-CNV caller and applied to the ACMG CNV guidelines using the intuitive steps of…

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Webcast Recap: Evaluation of CNVs with VSClinical’s New ACMG Guideline Workflow

Nov 10, 2020

In the webcast, Evaluation of Copy Number Variants with VSClinical’s New ACMG Guideline Workflow, we discussed how VSClinical implements Section 4 of the ACMG guidelines. Specifically, we focused on integrating literature and publications to assess the pathogenicity of a CNV event when there was a lack of dosage sensitivity information.…

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Golden Helix’s Virtual 2020 Conference Booth

Oct 27, 2020

In lieu of conferences making the absolutely necessary decision to cancel this year’s conference, we created our Virtual 2020 Conference Booth! Even though it will never compare to the real deal, we hope you enjoy this blog post containing a few events we had planned this year. To start, let…

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Golden Helix’s NGS-Solutions for Clinical Variant Analysis: VSWarehouse

Aug 27, 2020

We have now reached the final blog of the NGS-Solutions for Clinical Variant Analysis series. Part I of this series explored the capture of variant classifications in the VSClinical environment when following the ACMG and AMP guidelines. Part II was similar in content but for the capture of clinically relevant…

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Golden Helix gets full marks in ClinGen’s list of Genomic Analysis Software Platforms

Aug 26, 2020

The potential of genetic testing to impact a patient’s life has been greatly accelerated by the sharing of variant interpretations done by clinical labs in public repositories such as ClinVar. This is not an inevitable outcome, but the persistent work and advocacy of people like Dr. Heidi Rehm and organizations…

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WT1 Mutations: Side-by-Side Germline and Somatic Variant Evaluation in VSClinical

Jul 28, 2020

It is common knowledge that variants can be germline or somatic depending on whether the variant was inherited or acquired after birth. A well-known example is cancer-causing mutations in the BRCA genes, wherein the mutation may or may not have been inherited. Understanding the origin of the cancer-causing mutation is…

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Featured in The European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences: Investigating COVID-19 Infections Leveraging Next-Gen Sequencing

Jul 8, 2020

It is an honor to be published in the European Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 4) in an article co-authored by Dr. Christiane Scherer and myself, “Investigating the Global Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Leveraging Next-Gen Sequencing and Principal Component Analysis.” This study highlights how genomic surveillance of COVID-19…

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