Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) today announced that researchers at Duke University Medical Center will utilize Illumina’s Genome Analyzer to study the resistance to HIV infection among 50 individuals that were highly exposed to the virus, but who remain uninfected. Duke University researchers will sequence the complete genome of at least 50 individuals with the desired phenotype.

David B. Goldstein, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Human Genome Variation at Duke’s Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy will lead the investigation to help explain why some people are able to fend off infection even when repeatedly exposed to HIV. “This study represents the first effort to search through the entire human genome for any variants, rare or common, that influence susceptibility to infection by HIV-1. Working with Illumina’s next-generation sequencing technologies will allow us to rapidly and accurately screen the genomes of 50 individuals at very high coverage, amounting to the generation of as much data as was generated by the human genome project every two to three weeks. These studies will allow us to identify the most important genetic determinants of resistance to HIV-1 and may ultimately point the way toward new therapies to protect against HIV/AIDS,” said Goldstein.

“The decision by Duke University Medical Center to use Genome Analyzers is additional validation that our sequencing platform is delivering leading performance with its unmatched rate of daily output, ease of use, and proven paired-end sequencing capabilities,” said Joel McComb, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Illumina’s Life Sciences Business Unit.

The Duke University research project is supported by a $3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Designed for facilities of all sizes, the Illumina Genome Analyzer has been adopted across genome centers worldwide, plus individual research labs, core and service facilities, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Generating over 20Gb of sequence data on internal systems, the Genome Analyzer offers the highest rate of daily output and the simplest and most user-friendly workflow. The Genome Analyzer also offers the broadest set of supported applications, including those used to profile and discover novel transcripts, to create a high-resolution genome-wide map of DNA-protein binding sites and to sequence entire human genomes to greater than 30x coverage.