A recent publication in the journal Cell details the findings of the first phase of the 1001 Genomes project, in which researchers sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 1,135 strains of Arabidopsis thaliana. This data has led to discoveries about the evolutionary and migratory history of A. thaliana and creates opportunities for new research about how genes and environment interact. Read about how CRI resources contributed to this study.
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers from the University of Chicago and other institutions used genomic analysis to provide new evidence for the prehistoric origins of modern Himalayan populations. Dr. Anna Di Rienzo of the Department of Human Genetics used the CRI’s Tarbell high-performance computing cluster, as well as the Computation Institute’s Beagle supercomputer, to sequence the genomes of eight individuals who lived thousands of years in the past and to analyze them in comparison with those of modern Himalayan dwellers. Read more about the study at Science Node.
We’re celebrating a milestone for the Clinical Research Data Warehouse and the CRI team that keeps it running, as they recently filled their 500th data request since the service was launched in 2012. The datasets curated by this team have contributed to research across more than twenty departments and helped enable dozens of publications. Congratulations, CRDW team!
At the 2016 Advances in Neuroblastoma Research meeting, CRI Director Sam Volchenboum presented a demo of the International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) Data Commons. The Data Commons, built by a UChicago team including the Center for Research Informatics and Center for Data Intensive Science, brings together phenotypic information and genomic data related to neuroblastoma. Researchers can perform complex cohort discovery, then conduct genomic analysis in a secure, high-performance environment. To learn more about how the Data Commons works, watch Sam’s demo above.
The CRI’s instance of REDCap has been upgraded to version 6.14.0. The newest features are:
• Responsive Design of Web Pages
• Live Filters for Reports
• New Action Tag @USERNAME
• New Action Tag @DEFAULT
• CDISC ODM (XML) Export
Click here to read about these newest features. Please contact REDCap Support with any questions. Thank you.
The University of Chicago has publicly launched the National Cancer Institute’s Genomic Data Commons, developed by Chief Research Informatics Officer Bob Grossman. Representing two years of work by Dr. Grossman’s Center for Data Intensive Science and the CRI’s Bioinformatics Core, the GDC brings together genomic and clinical cancer data from multiple sources on a unified platform. Data that was formerly available only piecemeal is now centralized and standardized, making large datasets for cancer research far more accessible to scientists. The GDC is not only an unprecedentedly large repository of this data, it is also linked to tools for analysis and data sharing. Read more about the GDC here.
Vice President Joe Biden announced the GDC’s launch as part of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. By democratizing access to data and analysis tools and making it easier for researchers to collaborate, the GDC will contribute significantly to this effort to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The CRI is proud to have contributed bioinformatics expertise and resources to this important effort. Learn more about our contribution here.
In a recent paper published in JAMA, Sachin H. Jain and coauthors looking at ways to improve health care delivery for high-risk older patients discussed Dr. David Meltzer’s Comprehensive Care Program (CCP) as a promising way to increase continuity of care and improve outcomes for these patients whose needs, Jain writes in an article for Forbes, “are part medical, part social.”
The CCP study, for which the CRI built the technological infrastructure, pairs patients with a hospitalist who sees them both in the hospital and during outpatient follow-up visits. Jain concludes, “Ultimately, what is most exciting about the CCP and similar programs is the willingness to redesign traditional roles and models of care.”
Read more about the CRI’s contribution to the CCP initiative here.
Michael Baltasi, the CRI’s Executive Administrator since March 2014, has been named Deputy Director. Read More
The CRI’s free REDCap resource has revolutionized data capture for University researchers, with tools for building online surveys and databases, running reports, exporting data, and more. Read about how it changed one Professor of Surgery’s research, via our partner the Institute for Translational Medicine.
CRI Director Sam Volchenboum is one of two faculty directors for the new Graham School degree in biomedical informatics. Check out this interview with Sam for more about the program’s mission and why more formal education in biomedical informatics can improve both research and patient care.
