ICTS

Sequencing across species and across individuals is proceeding at a pace that far outstrips the capabilities of today’s computer technologies. Indeed, while genomic data are quadrupling every year, the available compute power can at best double each year. Further, many algorithmic approaches in bioinformatics rely on direct comparisons of nucleotide sequences and optimization combined with statistical techniques and probabilistic models that do not scale to the massive data. To achieve the biological and consequent healthcare breakthroughs promised by advances in genome sequencing, new and disruptive computing technologies must be developed

Breakthroughs can be envisaged by considering how features of genomic data can inspire new computational methods. Such innovations can occur only with an interdisciplinary team of computer engineers and scientists working closely with genomic biologists and bioinformatics specialists. It is a challenge to arrive at novel computational paradigms that shall have requisite innovative and scalable approaches for extracting small amount of relevant data from the big data, accurate algorithmic analyses and computational primitives supported by hardware-software co-design, and high-performance hierarchical storage.  This discussion meeting shall explore:

• Structure and features of Genomic data that can inspire new computational paradigms
  • Mapping Genotype to Phenotype, Genotypic Determinants of Human Disease, Detection of Genomic Variation, Metagenomics
• Algorithmic scalability challenges
  • Deeper understanding of the data, integration of this knowledge into a domain-specific Computational platform
  • Machine learning for Big data, computing on encrypted data
• Computational Test Bed and Managing Big data

The discussion meeting plans to arrive at a white paper calling for the creation of a center for Computing for Genomics and focused computing/biology groups to address each of the three target applications
(i) a configurable computing Test-bed (CompGen) with nodal interfaces at both Illinois and TIFR
(ii) inter-disciplinary programs to nurture and build quality human resources and
(iii) an industry consortium to develop application, hardware and software partnerships.

The discussion meeting is also being addressed by – Mr. Sam Pitroda (Advisor to PM on Public Infrastructures), Dr. T. Ramasami (Secretary, DST), Prof. K. Vijayaraghavan (Secretary, DBT), Dr. Madan Mohan (DBT), Dr. Narendra Ahuja (IT Research Academy, MLA), Mr. J. Satyanarayana (Secretary, DeiTy).