The ABRF MARG microarray survey 2005: taking the pulse of the microarray field

Abstract

Over the past several years, microarray technology has evolved into a critical component of any discovery-based program. Since 1999, the Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) Microarray Research Group (MARG) has conducted biennial surveys designed to generate a profile of microarray service laboratories and, more importantly, an overview of technology development and implementation. Survey questions addressed instrumentation, protocols, staffing, funding, and work flow in a microarray facility. Presented herein are the results of the MARG 2005 survey; where possible, trends in the field are discussed and compared to data collected from previous surveys.

FIGURE 1

Demographics of the ABRF MARG survey respondents. A: respondent location. B: respondent institution type.

FIGURE 2

Respondent reasons for selecting a microarray platform.

FIGURE 3

Number of ABRF MARG survey respondents by year. General, Affymetrix Array, and Custom (two-color) Array correspond to the similarly named section in the surveys.

FIGURE 4

ABRF mARG 2001 and 2005 survey respondent evaluation of the Affymetrix GeneChip platform. 1 = very dissatisfied, 2 = mildly dissatisfied, 3 = indifferent, 4 = moderately satisfied, and 5 = very satisfied.

FIGURE 5

Type and quantity of material printed on custom arrays. # Facilities = number of facilities, # Arrays = number of arrays processed per month.

FIGURE 6

Genomic material used by custom microarray printing facilities.

FIGURE 7

Challenge areas for microarray users.

FIGURE 8

Respondent evaluation of programs (algorithms) used to process expression array data generated using the Affymetrix GeneChip System.

FIGURE 9

Percentage of respondents using four novel array solutions. Numbers of respondents are indicated below each novel array solution category. A brief description of the survey question asked is contained within or shown above each bar.

FIGURE 10

Percentage of respondents using three new array technologies. Numbers of respondents are indicated below each new array technology. A brief description of the survey question asked is contained within each bar.

FIGURE 11

Percentage of respondents that have explored using microarrays in a clinical setting. A brief description of the survey question asked is contained within each bar. NIST = National Institute of Standards and Technology.