Pediatric Cancer Research Platform Launches at NCI

Dell, storage and I/O technology vendor Terascala, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute are installing what the partners call state-of-the-art computing and programming specialized for human genome investigations at the National Cancer Institute.


Dell, storage and I/O technology vendor Terascala, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute are installing what the partners call state-of-the-art computing and programming specialized for human genome investigations at the National Cancer Institute.

As part of a formal collaboration, Dell is providing the Dell Genomic Data Analysis Platform, designed to deliver fast analysis of the billions of data points required when decoding aspects of the human DNA and other genomic data.

Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is providing NCI with high performance computing and bioinformatics support, as well as specialized software and tools developed over the last three years: TGen and Dell have partnered in support of pediatric cancer research programs globally, including a personalized medicine trial for pediatric cancer conducted by the Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma Translational Research Consortium.

The new system at NCI will be used for four purposes:

*House genomics data of more than 800 pediatric cancers in a user-friendly database

*RNAseq and immunohistochemistry database for the Stand Up to Cancer Pediatric Dream team

*Computational server for a precision therapy trial  with the Children's Oncology Group

*Computational server for a precision therapy trial in the NCI Center for Cancer Research

The research goals are to integrate the data, decipher the biology of these cancers, identify and validate biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets and to rapidly translate findings to the clinic. The partners say the new system will host the largest collection of clinically annotated pediatric cancer genomic data ever released to the scientific community.

In related news, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, M.D., told lawmakers Sept. 10 that the United States has fallen woefully behind China when it comes to genomic research.

“While we, the United States, led the Human Genome Project and from that derived great benefit—the return on that investment was 178 to 1 in terms of economic growth—and yet if you ask me now where is the largest investment in genomics in the world, it is not in the United States. It is in, Shenzhen, China,” said Collins during a roundtable discussion on 21st century cures hosted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

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