Acquisition of High Performance Data and Computing Infrastructure to Advance Biomedical Research

7. Project Summary/Abstract. The purchase of a high-performance computing and data analytic system is proposed to advance biomedical research leading to an improved understanding of disease and advances in healthcare. This computational resource will initially be dedicated to the following diverse research areas: (1) development of a cloud-based R/Bioconductor instance for the analysis and comprehension of high-throughput genomic data, (2) understanding the pathophysiology of intracranial aneurysms, the rupture of which have catastrophic consequences with high morbidity and mortality, (3) computational analysis of complex pharmacological systems with the objective of understanding and inter-relating how pharmacological agents interact at molecular, cellular, organ and whole body levels, (4) understanding the effect of fluid forces, cell signaling pathways and cell-surface adhesion molecules on human blood neutrophil and platelet function, (5) improving the molecular understanding of essential parasite biology to facilitate the development of new chemotherapeutic drugs, (6) clinical and basic scientific research to improve methods of cancer prevention and early detection, study quality of life issues and maximize translational opportunities that improve the clinical management, outcomes and quality of life of cancer patients with gynecologic malignancies, (7) understanding the role of the human microbiome in the initiation and progression of disease, (8) precision drug discovery, (9) regulatory genomics aimed at understanding the biochemistry of gene regulation in DNA, a fundamental process that plays key roles in both normal development and in disease, (10) understanding the role of airway pathogens in the exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (11) development of more effective cancer chemotherapy regimens, (12) understanding and predicting infectious disease dispersion in large populations, (13) development of improved computational techniques to study large biological molecules such as proteins, (14) medical device modeling, (15) utilizing X-ray free lasers to study protein structure and dynamics in solution, (16) supporting a genomic sequencing core facility, and (17) Clinical and Translational Science Institute-based research. The proposed instrument will be used by researchers at four well-established biomedical research organizations, namely, the University at Buffalo, the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (the oldest cancer research center in the U.S.), and the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Herbert Hauptman), which have a long history of collaboration and are all located within one city block in Buffalo, NY.