Data Analysis Core

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT: DATA ANALYSIS AND SUBMISSION CORE The Vanderbilt-coordinated Human Virome Characterization Center (V2C2) is a trans-institutional initiative aimed at an in-depth longitudinal characterization of the human virome across various biospecimen and tissue types. Utilizing advanced genomics tools, V2C2 seeks to uncover specific viral relationships with health and disease, thereby informing subsequent mechanistic studies. The Data Analysis and Submission Core (DASC) will collaborate closely with the Biospecimen Analysis Core (BAC), metadata from the Biospecimen Collection Core (BCC), and Principal Investigators to provide precise, timely, cost-effective, and integrated management, processing, analysis, and sharing of both sequence data and related clinical metadata to reinforce reproducible, ethical scientific discovery. As part of V2C2, the DASC aims to provide key, time-demarcated deliverables, including: (1) Receipt and coordination of molecular data and assay conditions (from BAC) and metadata (from the Biospecimen Collection Core); (2) Data processing and analysis, including quality control/assurance assessment, assembly and annotation of viral genomes, microbiome profiling, and statistical analysis; (3) Data will be shared in standard repositories (with adherence to Common Fund Data Ecosystem elements and collaboration with Ethics, Legal, and Social Implications Core (ELSI) core to ensure ethical data-sharing practices and deidentification). In addition to V2C2-centered duties, the DASC will undertake the following key consortium- wide efforts: (1) participation in the analysis of cross-VCC site benchmarking studies (from a data analysis perspective); (2) design and conduct of a pilot study that bridges the Functional Interactions awardees (under RFA-RM-23-017) with the V2C2; (3) the establishment and leadership of data analysis working groups within the larger HVP consortium; (4) creation of cloud-based infrastructure pipelines (harmonized across the V2C2 and other VCCs) to enable high-fidelity, reproducible host-viral analyses. The research projects within V2C2 and other VCCs exhibit a wide range of experimental designs, encompassing a diverse array of sample types and analytical challenges. To address these, the DASC is structured to harmonize modular bioinformatics workflows and maintain flexibility, adapting to data from emerging technologies and methods as needed. This approach ensures that the diverse requirements of these complex research projects are effectively met. The vision of the DASC is to provide a collaborative structure that unites multiple investigators with experience in metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, statistical data integration, human omics, and cloud-based computing to enable these aims effectively.