BIOINFORMATICS SHARED RESOURCE (BISR) The Bioinformatics Shared Resource (BISR) continues to provide cutting-edge support in bioinformatics and computational biology for basic, translational, and clinical research programs throughout MD Anderson. Its personnel include 15 faculty, 15 statistical analysts, 2 bioanalysts, and 10 software engineers, all associated with the Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (DBCB) led by John Weinstein, MD, PhD. DBCB, a leader in bioinformatics nationally and internationally, provides high-quality academic research, education, and computer science as vital ?infrastructure? for the BISR's support function. The BISR analyzes a comprehensive spectrum of bioinformatic data types, including sequences (whole genome, whole exome, RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ChiRP-seq; bisulfite-seq, ATAC-seq, etc.); DNA, RNA, and protein microarrays; flow cytometry (fluorescence and CyTOF); mass spectrometry (targeted and discovery for proteomics and metabolomics); siRNA, shRNA; CRISPR/Cas9; histopathological and clinical images including CyTOF images; and marker-driven clinical trial data. In addition, BISR faculty and software engineering teams develop professional-grade, user-friendly visualization and analysis software for use at MD Anderson and worldwide. BISR faculty are currently lead principal investigators on 4 NIH U24 grants and an NIH U01 grant for development, application, and sharing of the software. The BISR is proactive in education, both for the next generation of informatics specialists (through the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rice University, and Baylor College of Medicine) and for biologists and clinical researchers who wish to learn elements of data science. Bioinformatics assistance can be requested through 1) the BISR website, 2) weekly walk-in clinics, 3) informal contact, or 4) a DBCB faculty member designated as a liaison for each department or program. As much as possible, BISR analysts and faculty work longitudinally with particular departments and programs to maximize continuity and domain expertise. Over the previous grant cycle, the BISR has supported >900 projects for 355 cancer center members (219 with peer-reviewed funding) in 64 MD Anderson departments, representing all 16 CCSG programs. Included were all 13 MD Anderson Moon Shots plus SPOREs, P01s, and R01s. The most active BISR users were the Head and Neck Cancer (21% total usage), Hematologic Malignancies (15%), and Lung Cancer (11%) CCSG programs. Peer-review funded investigators accounted for 85% of the usage, and 6% ($240,027) of total costs are requested from the CCSG. The BISR has no chargebacks, but users are expected to provide support if their projects are large. BISR faculty averaged 10.3 authorships in 2017, with more than 500 authorships over the 6-year period. BISR staff plus faculty have contributed to 865 papers since the last review: 114 (13%) in journals with IF >20, 273 (32%) in those with IF >10, and 624 (72%) in those with IF >5. The BISR's focus on issues of rigor, reproducibility, accessibility, and interoperability is in tune with FAIR principles and the NIH's new Data Science initiative, in which DBCB is primed to participate.
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