Core--Scientific computing

Burnham Institute For Medical Research, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Description: (Applicant's Description) The Scientific Computing Service is a developing shared resource. Its mission is to enable scientific research at the Institute, and in this context cancer research in particular. Available computational tools and associated sources of important biological data are evolving rapidly. This core is responsible for identifying the appropriate tools, installing them, testing them, documenting them and training the Institute?s scientists in their use. This core forms an important intersection between the more generic Information Systems (IS) Department and the Computational Biology research group. IS has the general responsibility of providing access to published sources, data collection, data analysis, publication, communication, and administration. At the same time the Computational Biology group is conducting leading edge research, most noticeably in the area of biological data representation and query. Taken together these resources are impacting how cancer research is conducted at the Institute. Immediate plans for the Scientific Computing Facility focus on improving tools and instruction for the use of those tools. The Genetics Computer Group (GCG) software package and a dedicated server were purchased a few months ago and are being introduced to the scientists. Training classes in advanced internal and Internet applications have begun--for example, effective use of BLAST and FASTA, structure prediction using threading--and will be developed further based on user demand. Development of multimedia based software and instruction which will provide self-paced, up-to-date instruction, is an important related activity of the Bioinformatics Department that is gradually being introduced. The Scientific Computing Service is used by all of the Cancer Center Laboratories.