In a recent blog note, I suggested healthcare IT and hospitals may want to hitch-a-ride on the research computing -omics cloud that is rapidly developing (see: The -Omics Cloud: A Healthcare IT Solution Already Developed for Genomics Research). More evidence for progress in the genomics research sector was provided by a recent article about investment in a "high-speed rail system" for transporting genomic data in support of cancer research (see: Biotech billionaire mounts digital attack on cancer). Here is an excerpt from the article:
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has taken part of his fortune made in the biotech game...and spent it on a high-speed rail of sorts to transport genomic data among researchers and medical care facilities around the U.S. The initial focus of the previously announced Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Advanced Health (CSS Institute) will be supporting cancer research....Soon-Shiong and his wife Michele Chan formed CSS Institute earlier this year. The billionaire's nonprofit has a supercomputer housed in Arizona for genomic data analysis and two data centers in the state. He's also taken financial responsibility of and the chairman role at the National LambdaRail (NLR), the 12,000-mile fiber-optic network that enables high-speed data transfers of 100 gigabits per second among hundreds of researchers, physicians and hospitals in the U.S....The CSS Institute's supercomputer and data centers have been linked to the NLR, with genomic sequencing hubs around the country expected to follow....[T]here are about 500GB of data in each genome...and now groups have begun projects that involve sequencing many genomes, and sharing the huge amounts of data generated from those projects among collaborators requires IT infrastructure that is equal to the task. Enter Soon-Shiong's nonprofit and the fiber-optic network he's bankrolling. Suddenly, sharing mountains of data, including those from sequencing and imaging tissue, start to sound manageable. An important aspect of the CSS Institute's work is to streamline the translation of scientific discoveries into new therapies....Cancer treatment has shown signs of speeding up due to genetic findings that help match patients with treatments, and the oncology field is expected to be the initial focus of the CSS Institute.
This article indicates that there is a new component in support of the genomic research supercomputers that are cropping up around the country -- fiberoptic networks that will connect them and allow them to share data. One of them is the National LambdaRail (NLR). Needless to say, cancer diagnosis and treatment is the epicenter of genomic research and entrepreneur/ philanthropists like Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong are helping to make integrated and collaborative research computing a reality. It also make sense that individuals such as he are investing in information technology rather than making bricks-and-mortar donations to universities and hospitals. Such investments would seem to come naturally to individuals who have make their fortune in biotech.
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