Three ways to work with us,
from one sample to a full program.
- Whole-blood RNA sequencing
- Stranded whole-transcriptome sequencing at ~30 million read pairs per sample on Illumina NovaSeq, reported as the Inflammation Compass’s 38 pathways, six readings and immune cell mix, or delivered as raw files and expression matrices for your own analysis.
- Custom assay development
- Assay design and validation for your gene targets. Our team develops shelf-stable reagent formulations that need no cold chain, so testing can run where it is needed.
- Laboratory services
- Our CLIA-certified facility is available for your testing workflows, from sample accessioning through result delivery.
From one tube of blood to six readings,
every step on the record.
The Inflammation Compass is a whole-blood RNA sequencing test for general wellness use, processed in our CLIA-certified laboratory. Each step below is the same for every sample.
- Collection
- One tube of venous whole blood is drawn into a PAXgene Blood RNA tube, which stabilizes RNA at the draw and keeps the sample stable at room temperature for days, so transport needs no cold chain.
- Sequencing
- RNA extraction, DNA removal, globin and ribosomal RNA depletion, ERCC spike-in controls, and stranded library preparation, then ~30 million read pairs (2×150 bp) per sample on Illumina NovaSeq. A sample that fails a quality gate is re-processed or re-collected and never reported.
- Pathways
- Reads are aligned with STAR, counted per gene with featureCounts and normalized to TPM. Genes are scored as 38 pathways, 21 for Activation and 17 for Resolution, each scored within the sample relative to its overall gene activity.
- Six readings
- A statistical model with fixed weights summarizes the pathways as six readings: the first three principal components of the pathway scores within each phase. Five are level readings and one, Where the Fast Response Is Working, is a balance between two sets of pathways. They are statistical summaries, not six separate body functions, and a pathway can contribute to more than one. There is no overall score.
- Immune cell mix
- The share of each immune cell family is estimated from the same data by deconvolution. It is an estimate and doesn’t replace a blood count.
- Comparison
- Each result is placed against a reference group of people whose blood was collected, sequenced and analyzed the same way. The reference range is the middle 80 percent of that group, and a result is within, at the edge, below or above. From the second sample on, each reading is marked as moved or about the same against the person’s own earlier samples. The margin for “at the edge” and the threshold for “moved” are provisional and printed on the report.
Validation status,
and what is still open.
Status words are exact: done, in place, accruing, sign-off pending or planned.
- IRB approval to enroll participants
- Done
- Per-sample quality gates for RNA integrity, read depth, mapping rate, spike-in linearity and contamination
- In place
- Reference group
- Accruing
- Pipeline check against public blood transcriptome datasets
- Sign-off pending
- Within-person and pre-analytical variability study
- Planned
- Samples from known inflammatory conditions, through biobank partners
- Planned
The reference group grows as people join, so reference ranges are recalculated as it grows. Reading names are an inference about what the weighted pathways are associated with. The pathway gene sets are drawn from peer-reviewed research and pathway databases; their response to changes in training, sleep or diet, or to therapies, is biologically expected but not yet demonstrated.
The Inflammation Compass is a laboratory-developed test with a general wellness intended use. It is not FDA cleared or approved, and it does not diagnose, rule out or predict any disease.
Almost 15 years of DNA and RNA tests,
and a lab that has run testing at many sites.
Biomeme has spent almost 15 years building tests that read DNA and RNA, and the instruments that run them, first for field biologists, the military and diagnostic labs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the team ran high-complexity testing at many sites, including for film and television productions. Biomeme Labs is the next step: our own clinical laboratory, and the Inflammation Compass is its first test.
Production and studio partners tested during COVID-19
Partnership models
that fit how your organization works.
-
Clinics and practices
Offer the Inflammation Compass in your practice. We handle the laboratory work and deliver reports that you and your patients can follow, including two pages written for clinicians.
Read the clinician page -
Companies
Use Biomeme Labs as your CLIA-certified testing laboratory, with custom panel development, white-label reporting and full sample tracking under your brand.
Get in touch -
Researchers
Whole-blood RNA sequencing for clinical studies and research programs, with raw files delivered to your team and ~1 month batch turnaround from our Philadelphia laboratory.
See research services
CLIA certification,
and the quality program behind it.
Biomeme Labs operates a CLIA-certified laboratory licensed for high-complexity testing in Philadelphia, PA (CLIA ID # 39D2229561). Every assay is validated per clinical laboratory standards, and our quality program includes routine proficiency testing, internal quality controls and documented standard operating procedures.
- CLIA-certified facility
- High-complexity testing laboratory, Philadelphia, PA.
- Validated assays
- All panels validated per clinical laboratory standards, with documented SOPs.
- Proficiency testing
- Routine proficiency testing participation, with quality assurance documentation.
- Sample tracking
- Every sample is tracked from collection through result delivery.
Tell us what you need from a laboratory.
Schedule a call to discuss whole-blood RNA sequencing, custom assays or laboratory services.