Informatics

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INFORMATICS SHARED RESOURCE The Informatics Shared Resource (ISR) supports for the cancer center's basic, clinical, and translational research. Formerly known as the Shared Computer Facility, this shared resource's name change reflects the shift in focus of the facility from providing central computing hardware platforms for investigators, to providing services for management and processing of data and information. These services include creating research software, data file management, hardware and software acquisition, and computer-related consultation. The ISR has supported cancer center research by developing web-based database applications for clinical trials, biospecimen research repositories, and various research projects. It provides management of very large genomic experimental data sets, acquisition of hardware, development of software tools to facilitate inter- and intra-institutional collaborative research programs, and assistance with design proposals for research-related computing. The clinical trials applications provide information on available clinical trials, the registration of participants on these trials, and the fully automated reporting of trial adverse events. The biospecimen repository applications provide investigators with information characterizing specimens available for research. Applications and strategies for the storage and retrieval of microarray experimental results were developed. Video conferencing systems were acquired and webbased document sharing applications developed for geographically dispersed research collaborations. Informatics Shared Resource staff consult with investigators to recommend hardware and software, ranging from the desktop units to high performance computing clusters. Recognizing the importance for interoperability of independently developed informatics systems as crucial to the furtherance of cancer research through the sharing of research data and resources, the ISR has been an active participant in the NCI's cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG¿) since the initiative's inception. This resource has been a funded developer and/or adopter in the Integrated Cancer Research and Tissue Bank and Pathology Tools Workspaces. KCC is among the first cancer centers to deploy caBIG¿ tools. The shared resource director, Dr. London, is a member of the Data Sharing and Intellectual Capital Work Group. Staff members have served as unfunded participants in the Clinical Trials Management Systems Work Space, to keep abreast of developments in this group for possible adoption at the center. The ISR also supports cancer center programs which relate to research, such as the clinical trials applications, seminar conferencing services and the database application for tracking seminars. These are made available to Jefferson Cancer Network hospitals and cancer center community outreach programs, such as the Buddy Program.