AGBT is always one of the most exciting weeks of the year. It’s where the field gathers to share breakthroughs and get a first look at technologies that will shape the future of research.
We were proud to participate as a bronze sponsor, connecting with the community through scientific presentations and conversations throughout the week. Across sessions, a clear theme emerged: researchers are pushing toward richer biological insight.
We introduced researchers to two key parts of our 2026 roadmap: VITARI™, a new high throughput sequencing platform, and tissue profiling on AVITI24™, which brings Direct In Sample Sequencing (DISS) into FFPE and fresh frozen tissue samples.
One of the highlights of the week was the Element podium presentation led by Abbey Cutchin, Director of Product Management, and Rahul Lodhavia, Senior Product Manager.
The session drew strong attendance and focused on our major areas of innovation.
First, we highlighted continued innovation on AVITI24 with the addition of tissue profiling. This enables expressed variant detection in the context of cellular architecture and preserves spatial information. By integrating sequencing directly into tissue workflows, researchers can generate spatial insights without the fragmented workflows that often accompany multi-assay approaches.
Then, we introduced VITARI, our upcoming high-throughput sequencer. The first benchtop platform to offer the $100 genome at scale, VITARI was designed to help researchers scale large studies without sacrificing flexibility or cost efficiency.
As genomics studies grow larger, throughput alone isn’t enough. Labs also need flexibility, especially when managing multiple projects, variable sample numbers, and different sequencing applications. With dual independent flow cells, each containing 6 lanes, VITARI doesn’t compromise on scale or flexibility.
Learn more about our 2026 roadmap.
AGBT also featured new science from Element and collaborators.
Our first breakfast workshop was led by Elinor Karlsson, PhD, of the Broad Institute and Chief Scientist of Darwin’s Ark.
Her talk explored how combining low pass whole genome sequencing with targeted capture can bridge the gap between genomic discovery and genetic selection in working dogs. By combining genome-wide discovery with targeted sequencing of specific SNPs of interest, researchers can identify traits while maintaining the broader genetic diversity that supports long-term population health.
Our second breakfast workshop and poster session highlighted work led by Semyon Kruglyak, VP of Informatics & Government Affairs at Element Biosciences, in collaboration with the Goren Lab at UCSD.
This project investigated the role of SETD5, linked to neurological disease, using dTAG mediated degradation of SETD5 and analyzed the resulting biological effects using AVITI24 multiomic readouts. By combining imaging, protein measurements, and Direct In Sample Sequencing (DISS), we examined how loss of this chromatin-associated factor reshapes transcriptional programs, shifts cell state, and alters RNA localization.
Beyond the sessions themselves, AGBT is always about the conversations happening in the hallways, poster sessions, and even the late night gatherings.
Throughout the week, researchers stopped by the Element lounge to get a first look at VITARI. And of course, many attendees joined us later in the evening for our Tron-themed party.
If one theme stood out across the meeting, it was that researchers are asking increasingly complex biological questions. The technologies supporting them are evolving just as quickly. From scaling genomics to sequencing directly within tissue, the next phase of discovery will depend on tools that can capture biology across space, time, and molecular layers.