As much as 10 percent of the population is thought to have a “rare disease.” Due to a lack of understanding, many of these diseases remain very difficult to diagnose and treat. Inspired by the enormous unmet needs of people with rare diseases, an international team of scientists is developing open-access tools and resources for sharing disease characteristics and treatment information.
Berkeley Lab Hosts Gene Ontology Consortium Meeting
In early October, Chris Mungall, who leads the Molecular Ecosystems Biology Department in Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB), and members of his group hosted the biannual Gene Ontology Consortium (GOC) meeting.
A Community-driven Data Science System to Advance Microbiome Research
The National Microbiome Data Collaborative will develop an open-access framework for harnessing microbiome data to accelerate discoveries
The National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC), a new initiative aimed at empowering microbiome research, is gearing up its pilot phase after receiving $10 million of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), in partnership with Los Alamos (LANL), Oak Ridge (ORNL), and Pacific Northwest (PNNL) National Laboratories, the NMDC will leverage DOE’s existing data-science resources and high-performance computing systems to develop a framework that facilitates more efficient use of microbiome data for applications in energy, environment, health, and agriculture.
New Computational Biosciences Group Formed
Researchers from Biosciences and the Computational Research Division (CRD) have formed a new integrated Computational Biosciences Group to develop tools for addressing a range of scientific problems that cross organizational lines. Members of the group include (pictured, from left): Héctor García Martin of the Biological Systems and Engineering and the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Divisions (BSE/EGSB), acting group lead Kris Bouchard (BSE), Chris Mungall (EGSB), Andrew Tritt of the Computational Research Division(CRD), Oliver Rübel (CRD), and Ben Brown (EGSB). Additional members not pictured are: Aydın Buluç (CRD), Silvia Crivelli (CRD), Hans Johansen (CRD), Talita Perciano (CRD), and Peter Zwart of the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division (MBIB).
Read more on the Computing Sciences website.
New EGSB Leadership Announced
N. Louise Glass, director of the Environmental Genomics & Systems Biology (EGSB) Division, announced new leadership as of October 1, 2018. Changes were implemented to diversify perspectives and ideas within the management of the Division. Ben Brown and Henrik Scheller have agreed to take on positions as Division co-deputies for science; Tanja Woyke and Chris Mungall will now serve as department heads of Functional Genomics and Molecular Ecosystems Biology, respectively.
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