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Informatics in
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CTC
Database Consultants Help Design New Data-Driven Informatics
System at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Other Topics: Genomic
Informatics, Spectroscopy and
Chemistry Software
PRLEAP.COM
August 21, 2006
Ithaca, NY -- The Cornell Theory Center (CTC), an
interdisciplinary research center at Cornell University focused
on providing cyber-infrastructure resources for research and
education, announced today that CTC systems and database
consultants helped design and create a new high-performance
computing center and informatics system for the Biorepository at
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. |
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“As a
high-performance data warehouse and large-scale data-mining
environment, the new system allows The Feinstein Biorepository
to manage vast amounts of information derived from the
collection, processing and analysis of large numbers of
biological specimens. A data-management system of this magnitude
is unprecedented within academic research facilities,” explains
Anthony Ingraffea, CTC’s acting Director.
The Biorepository at The Feinstein Institute was built in 1998
and has grown to store hundreds of thousands of human samples of
different types, such as serum, plasma, DNA, cells, tissues and
tumors, along with extensive amounts of associated data, to
support many large scientific studies. Both control and
disease-affected samples are collected and managed along with
clinical, laboratory and bioinformatics data.
One segment of sample analysis that has grown dramatically in
the past six months is the identification of single nucleotide
polymorphisms, or SNPs. SNPs are DNA sequence variations that
occur when a single nucleotide in a genome sequence is altered.
SNPs make up about 90% of all human genetic variation and
scientists believe SNPs may predispose people to a disease or
influence their response to a drug. Currently, researchers at
The Feinstein Institute are generating approximately eight to 10
million SNP genotypes each day, and they anticipate accumulating
three billion or more SNP genotypes over the next year.
"The difficulties in managing and manipulating these very large
datasets required the creation of a new data center capable of
high-performance data management," said Robert Lundsten,
Biorepository Director. "Management of research-subject
annotation is also quickly becoming a high-performance computing
issue," he added.
The Feinstein Biorepository informatics system includes a
symmetrical multi-processor (SMP) Unisys ES7000 computer
expandable to 256 GB of RAM running four 64-bit Intel Itanium 2
processors expandable to 64. The system is unique in that it
runs Microsoft
Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition R2. The platform was
designed to run SQL Server 2005 64-bit Enterprise Edition. Data
is stored directly through four host bus adapters to an EMC
CLARiiON CX300 RAID disk array. The computing center also has an
assortment of in-house 32-bit applications running on Dell
PowerEdge servers and Dell PowerVault disk arrays.
Creating an efficient data-management environment is the first
step in developing an effective data-mining environment. "CTC’s
experience in data-management design was very helpful," Lundsten
emphasized. "They know how to design systems and databases that
optimize performance in a Microsoft Windows and SQL 2005
environment."
About CTC
CTC is an interdisciplinary research center at Cornell
University focused on providing cyberinfrastructure resources
for research and education; these resources include
high-performance and data-intensive computing hardware and
expertise, visualization, and K-12 outreach. Scientific and
engineering projects supported by CTC represent a wide variety
of disciplines, including bioinformatics, behavioral and social
sciences, computer science, engineering, geosciences,
mathematics, physical sciences, and business. CTC is leveraged
by business and industry to stay on the cutting edge of
high-performance computing, storage, and database management
technologies. Information about the CTC Corporate Program is
available at http://www.tc.cornell.edu/corporate
About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Located in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical
Research is part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health
System, New York State’s largest healthcare network. The
Feinstein is among the top six percent of all institutions
nationally that receive funding from the National Institutes of
Health. Building on its strengths in immunology and
inflammation, oncology and cell biology, human genetics, and
neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, its goal is to
understand the biological processes that underlie various
diseases and translate this knowledge into new tools for
diagnosis and treatment. For more information, visit
www.FeinsteinInstitute.org. |
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