Participating in the global ecosystem of responsible human genomics data analysis
Members of the BioCommons team have recently returned from the US where they progressed our mission to establish infrastructure for human genome sharing and analysis in Australia and to deliver the technical solutions needed to help researchers actively participate in global research collaborations.
Uwe Winter, Marion Shadbolt, and Steven Manos met with key peers to bolster our understanding of world leading infrastructure to support human genome informatics which we are enhancing and deploying nationally. During their trip to the US between 9-17 May 2022, the group considered the essential elements of good national infrastructure, and brought home key learnings around the architecture, systems, user support, people and partnerships that are required. Our international partners reported that BioCommons’ ability to describe the Australian landscape and represent our researchers’ unique context and requirements was extremely valuable.
Starting in Chicago, our staff could finally meet in person with collaborators at the Center for Translational Data Science, University of Chicago. Sharing insights with Bob Grossman and his team, who are responsible for the Gen3 data platform, allowed deeper understanding of how Gen3 might support the interoperation and creation of cloud-based data resources, including data commons and analysis workspaces. Gen3 is already used internationally to manage, analyse, harmonise, and share large and complex datasets in the cloud and BioCommons activities are seen as a valuable opportunity to expand the Gen3 community.
Visiting the Center for Data Driven Discovery in Biomedicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) provided a boost to an important project that has been underway since 2020. Along with Seven Bridges and CHOP, Australian BioCommons is delivering impact to Australian researchers by participation in a global data commons, through the implementation of the cloud-based platform, CAVATICA, to facilitate collaborative access, sharing, and analysis of paediatric cancer data. Deeper collaboration was discussed with a view to further supporting Australia’s Zero Childhood Cancer Program.
The trip concluded in Boston where the team was hosted by the Broad Institute. The meeting offered a technical deep dive into the scalable platform for biomedical research, Terra, that enables researchers to access data, run analysis tools, and collaborate. Terra is used by over 25,000 (mainly US) researchers and valuable discussions were had about how it might integrate with Australian requirements.
These intensive fact-finding missions with international partners are an important element of Australian BioCommons mission to build the necessary foundations that ensure Australian researchers can participate fully in the global ecosystem of responsible human genomics data analysis. Our Human Genome Informatics Initiative continues to work towards infrastructure for global best practice human genome data warehousing, sharing and analysis in Australia.