COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE

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The Cancer Center's Computational Sciences (CS) group leverages the power of interdisciplinary thinking by partnering theorists, experimentalists and software engineers in a cooperative atmosphere accessible to experimentalists. Through CS, Cancer Center members apply advanced computational techniques to discover the hidden order in complex data sets and to decipher the languages of biology. CS is dedicated to the development and implementation of algorithms, and the application of visualization tools, relational databases and high-performance computing facilities to the understanding of complex biological processes. The operation comprises six functional service delivery areas; Applications Development (APRS), Statistics & Analysis (SA), High Performance Computing (HPC), Colony Management Systems (CMS) and Cancer Bioinformatics Grid (caBIG) which are all supported by the Software Quality Assurance (SQA) group. All CS functional groups access the same support tools including a dedicated Work Management System and associated process standards, including Software Configuration Management and Software Development Life Cycle practices. Through CS, Cancer Center members access discovery tools and compute systems they would otherwise struggle to employ. The Integrated Services Information System, supporting process and data management functions across the Scientific Services, was developed and is maintained by CS. A diverse consortium of biologists, statisticians, mathematicians, computer scientists and database specialists are essential to this effort. CS, which occupies 1,044 ft2 of interactive space in Research Laboratory Unit 4 and Building 46, employs six software engineers, one software configuration management engineer, one high-performance computing specialist, and a caBIG liaison all managed by a Senior Software Engineer as well as three biostatistician/bioinformaticists and analysts reporting to a bioinformaticist manager. Co-Project Leaders Drs. Carol Bult and Gary Churchill oversee this operation which has grown from its inception in 1999 from one full time employee (FTE) to a department of 14 FTEs in 2005. Drs. Bult and Churchill communicate with the Cancer Center users and Service staff to ensure that research needs are met in the most efficient, cost-effective and technically current manner.