The Informatics & Data Management Shared Resource provides advanced informatics support to the activities of the other Cancer Center Shared Resources, as well as informatics support and training to individual investigators in the Burnham Cancer Center. This Shared Resource is composed of two facilities: Bioinformatics and Cheminformatics. The Bioinformatics facility provides services to facilitate and expand the boundaries of Cancer Center research by providing a cutting-edge computational and bioinformatics support focusing on new data-intensive technologies, including (i) Analysis of Cancer Center investigator data generated in other Shared Resources; (ii) Support of other Cancer Center PI lab projects; (iii) Support of Cancer Center Shared Resource facility functions, and (iv) Bioinformatics classes and training for the entire Cancer Center community. The number of Cancer Center Pis using IDM services nearly tripled from 10 in the first year to 29 in the last year, and the number of Shared Resources receiving IDM support doubled. The Cheminformatics Facility provides informatics and database management for chemicals, chemical screening and related activities, as well as cheminformatics and computational support for SAR follow-up of hits, hit-to-lead optimization, structural modeling. In sllico screening. The IDM Shared Resource has contributed significantly to research in the Cancer Center. Critical contribution by IDM experts was acknowledged by co-authorship on more than 15 published papers during the last five years. Overall, the services in the Informatics and Data Management Shared Resource continue to evolve, due to the evolution of Cancer Research. A broad range of new tasks appeared in the menu of IDM services, including multidimensional analysis and interpretation of gene expression and proteomics data, in silico docking, development of project-oriented web-sites, etc. By going through these changes, adjusting and redefining itself, IDM developed into a mature resource of high and growing demand in the Cancer Center. Based on this experience as well as on the ever-accelerating progress of 'omics' technologies, we project that the need in high-quality informatics support (such as provided by IDM) in Burnham's Cancer Center will keep increasing even faster than before. The IDM Shared Resource supplies the talent and expertise that will successfully be able to meet the anticipated future demands. Overall, $181,204 in CCSG support is requested for the first year, representing 40.4% of the total estimated annual operating budget of the Informatics & Data Management Shared Resource
Much of the research in the Cancer Center now generates a tremendous amount of data that needs to be analyzed to determine its statistical and biological significance. Informatic analysis has become a critical component of this process, with data from nearly every Shared Resource requiring such analysis and management. The IDM Shared Resource provides the necessary tools and expertise to accomplish this.
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