Autism Gene Analysis Moves to Cloud

Autism Speaks will use the Google Cloud Platform to better manage and analyze its library of genomic information on persons with autism and their families.


Autism Speaks will use the Google Cloud Platform to better manage and analyze its library of genomic information on persons with autism and their families.

The platform will support the Autism Speaks Ten Thousand Genomes Program (AUT10K) to sequence the entire genome of 10,000 individuals in families with autism. The organization has the largest collection of autism-related DNA samples, which is cross-referenced with anonymous behavioral and medical information, according to a recent announcement.

Now, AUT10K--which will be open to autism researchers worldwide--will bring a much larger pool of data and Autism Speaks needs help in storing, remotely accessing and analyzing the data. The group is moving away from use of hard drives to hold genomic information and says under its present methods that downloading one person’s whole genome could take several hours.

The AUT10K program, which is expected to help identify new subtypes of autism and associated individualized treatments, has completed sequencing 1,000 cases and has another 2,000 in the pipeline. Financial support has come from the Gordon & Llura Gund Foundation, Mel Karmazin Foundation, Allerton Foundation, KRG Children Charitable Foundation, the province of Ontario and the Canadian federal government.

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