San Francisco (Nov. 28, 2012) – The Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s
(A*STAR) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) today announced the launch of a
research collaboration with Appistry, a leading US-based provider of high-performance
computing and analytics for managing and storing “big data.”
“We are excited about this collaboration as it leverages on our computational genomics
platform,” said Professor Huck Hui NG, GIS executive director. “Through this
collaboration, we will develop a pipeline which enables us to analyze next generation
sequencing data more effectively.”
“Appistry’s technology will enable GIS to take a huge amount of data and rapidly
advance their analytics and efficiently use their science to improve public health,” said
Sultan Meghji, Appistry’s vice president of product strategy, who is speaking today on
life science’s “big data” challenge at the World Genome Data Analysis Summit in San
Francisco.
GIS strategically focuses on scientific discovery through a fusion of genomic and
computational approaches with cell and medical biology. The collaboration is dedicated
to accelerating the development of research methods and discoveries in human genome
analytics and genomics. GIS aims to act as an Asian hub for collaboration among clinical
genomics researchers in many pioneering fields, including clinical diagnostics and
cancer biology.
“We expect this collaboration to inspire, enable, and accelerate efforts in the emerging
field of complex pedigree and traits analytics and to catalyze discoveries and advance
the understanding of this important area of biology,” said Prof. Michael Rossbach, head
of the Office of Business Development at GIS.
GIS’s regional research collaboration with Appistry builds upon Appistry’s recent
selection as the distributor for The Broad Institute’s next generation Genome Analysis
Tool Kit (GATK), the world’s most widely used software for data processing and variant
calling of next-generation sequencing data.
“The push toward translational and personalized medicine requires organizations to
wrap their science within systems and applications that can provide actionable results
from big data,” said Meghji. “Our global partnership with Broad and our regional
partnership with GIS better enable our customers to capture the scientific best practices and capabilities they need in an environment that scales to modern throughput
demands.”
Meghji’s presentation at the World Genome Data Analysis Summit can be viewed online
at www.appistry.com/wgdas.
About Appistry
Appistry orchestrates solutions to big data problems, and since 2001, the company’s
fabric technology has empowered organizations and researchers to transform vast data
into actionable intelligence. Appistry weaves together high performance computing and
analytics to provide the throughput and scale required for diverse applications—from
discovering new medical therapies to delivering overnight packages, gaining clarity from
financial transactions, or deciphering military satellite images. For more information,
please visit www.appistry.com and follow us on Twitter @appistry.
About the Genome Institute of Singapore
The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) is an institute of the Agency for Science,
Technology and Research (A*STAR). It has a global vision that seeks to use genomic
sciences to improve public health and public prosperity. Established in 2001 as a centre
for genomic discovery, the GIS will pursue the integration of technology, genetics and
biology towards the goal of individualized medicine. The key research areas at the GIS
include computational & systems biology, stem cell and developmental biology, cancer
stem cell biology, cancer therapeutics and stratified oncology, human genetics,
infectious diseases, genomic technologies and translational technologies. The genomics
infrastructure at the GIS is utilized to train new scientific talent, to function as a bridge for
academic and industrial research, and to explore scientific questions of high impact.
Please visit www.gis.a-star.edu.sg.
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public
sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic
growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven
economy. In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and
development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore’s manufacturing sector
and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by
providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry. A*STAR
oversees 20 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research
entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as their vicinity. These two R&D
hubs house a bustling and diverse community of local and international research
scientists and engineers from A*STAR’s research entities as well as a growing number
of corporate laboratories. Please visit www.a-star.edu.sg.
Media Contacts:
Deborah Ausman
Appistry
(405) 612-4728
DeborahA@appistry.com
Winnie Lim Genome Institute of Singapore, Office of Corporate Communications
(65) 6808 8013
limcp2@gis.a-star.edu.sg
Mark Sutherland
(314) 913-0674
mark@goelastic.com