Microsoft Research funds genome-related computing work

Microsoft Research announced it will support a number of genome-related research projects as part of its Computational Challenges of Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) program. Funding places emphasis on data access and visualitzation tools for scientists working to map the human genome.

 

Among the supported work: Purdue University researches gained support for an effort to build an Interactive Software System for Integrating Clinical Genotyping With Prescription Drug Safety Assurance.

 

Also, the Translational Genomics Research Institute, will work on combining data generated in genome research via a universal data format that would accommodate multiple vendor  platforms into a single file and software library. Johns Hopkins Hospital will work the genes responsible for  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) by studying 489 Finnish ALS cases.

 

University of California, San Diego; Division of Computer Science, and the University of California, Berkeley; will look into “Pathway-Based Association: for genome studies. They will look to explain the associations captured by GWAS in terms of known gene and protein interactions by developing computational tools that help explain linkages between signaling, regulatory and  metabolic pathways to the genes that are associated with a disorder.

 

Among other work supported by Microsoft, the University of the Republic of Uruguay; Pasteur Institute at Montevideo will work to define biologiy-oriented data-quality properties.

 

Scientists Explore Human Gene Pool With Help From Microsoft Research – Microsoft, April 18, 2008