Guest Editors
Alessandra Giannella
Department of Medicine, University of Padova
<p>Alessandra Giannella is a research technologist in the Department of Medicine at the University of Padua. She holds a PhD in Translational Medicine and has an academic background in medical biotechnology. She has extensive experience in nucleic acid extraction from tissues, cells, and extracellular vesicles, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, and manual library preparation for small non-coding RNAseq, gene panels, exomes, and bulk/single-cell transcriptomics. </p><p><br></p><p>Dr. Giannella performs quality-control procedures and hands-on work with Illumina-based workflows, including bioinformatic pre-processing and troubleshooting of sequencing data. She supports research teams by optimizing protocols, training users, and promoting the launch of a departmental core facility for high-throughput molecular technologies. Her work contributes to translational studies in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disorders, where NGS is applied to identify novel biomarkers and regulatory pathways. She firmly believes that integrating NGS data with complementary advanced technologies represents a powerful approach to improving biological insight and molecular profiling.</p>
Giulio Ceolotto
Department of Medicine, University of Padova
<p>Dr. Giulio Ceolotto is an associate professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Padova. He earned his PhD in Medical, Clinical, and Experimental Sciences and specializes in clinical biochemistry and molecular biology. He has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in international journals. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms behind vascular complications of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and atherosclerosis. Dr. Ceolotto has extensive experience with next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and data analysis, particularly RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), to investigate gene expression patterns in these pathological conditions.</p>
Collection Overview
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has become the cornerstone of modern genomics and a catalyst for breakthroughs in molecular biology, biomedical research, and precision medicine. Its scalability, sensitivity, and throughput have enabled researchers to explore complex biological questions with unprecedented resolution—across single-cell biology, spatial and bulk transcriptomics, epigenomics, metagenomics, and clinical genomics.
At the same time, the rapid expansion of sequencing platforms (e.g., Illumina, Oxford Nanopore, PacBio), library preparation protocols, and data analysis pipelines has introduced significant complexity in selecting optimal workflows. As most emerging analytical approaches rely on high-quality NGS data, understanding the trade-offs, limitations, and performance of different technologies has become essential for robust, reproducible, and scalable experimental design.
This Methods Collection aims to provide a comprehensive, technically rigorous overview of the current NGS landscape. It will feature articles detailing benchmarking sequencing platforms, library construction and enrichment protocols, quality control measures, and computational analysis strategies, exploring innovative applications. Emphasis will be placed on comparative studies, best practices, and context-specific optimizations that support diverse research needs.
The collection brings together expert insights from the entire next-generation sequencing (NGS) workflow—covering sample preparation, sequencing, data analysis, and biological interpretation. It aims to serve as a practical and trustworthy resource for the research community. By emphasizing alternative methods and their respective trade-offs, it will support informed decision-making and the development of reproducible, efficient, and application-specific sequencing strategies. The goal of this initiative is to enhance transparency, promote compatibility across different platforms, and foster progress in both basic and translational research.
