On Sept. 9, 2020, NanoString Technologies announced the formation of the GeoMx Translational Leadership Network (GTLN). The GTLN will pioneer the application of spatial biology in large translational research studies, developing and sharing standardized practices to facilitate collaboration between groups of researchers across multiple institutions. To date, the GTLN includes members of the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium, established in 2019, and the newly established GeoMx COVID-19 Consortium. NanoString is now accepting applications for new members to form future consortia for oncology, immunology, and neuroscience research spanning discovery, translational and clinical applications.

GTLN membership provides the opportunity to join disease-focused consortia to develop GeoMx data standards to enable meta-analyses of shared spatial data sets in specific research areas. Consortia will define spatial imaging and profiling standards with the goal of addressing critical questions that require large sample sets. Members will also have access to exclusive product development updates, early access to new reagents and dedicated support to enable multi-institution studies.

The GeoMx COVID-19 Consortium has been formed to study COVID-19 and the host response. By compiling GeoMx DSP and complementary data, members will have access to larger data sets required to answer open questions in the field. Additionally, the COVID-19 Consortium will define standards and best practices to guide researchers in their spatial analysis. The work done to date by this group, including Weill Cornell Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and University of British Columbia, will be presented at the upcoming Advancing Science: A Spatial Biology Conference.