The accumulation of genomic data is a worldwide phenomenon. Cloud-based platforms such as WuXi NextCODE’s Exchange are essential to address the fundamental big data challenge of genomics.

1. Genomics:
Big
Data
Leading
to
Big
Opportunities
Hannes
Smarason
Genome
Sequencing
|Personalized
Medicine
|
Transforming
Health
Care

2. The
Big
Data
of
Genomics
• We
are
in
the
midst
of
an
explosion
of
‘Big
Data’
in
a
variety
of
human
endeavors:
– Roughly
2.5
quintillion
bytes
of
data
are
generated
every
day;
and
– 90%
of
the
world’s
data
was
created
in
the
last
two
years.
• Genomics
has
become
a
major
source
of
the
growth
of
such
big
data,
particularly
as
the
cost
of
sequencing
genomes
has
plummeted
source:
http://www-­‐01.ibm.com/software/data/bigdata/what-­‐is-­‐big-­‐data.html

3. Genomics:
Driving
the
Exponential
Growth
of
Big
Data
• The
raw
sequence
data
for
just
one
person’s
whole
genome
use
as
much
as
100GB
–
and
already
hundreds
of
thousands
of
individual
genomes
have
been
sequenced.
– With
more
than
2,500
high-­‐throughput
sequencing
instruments
currently
used
in
55
countries
across
the
globe,
more
genomes
are
added
every
daya
– The
aggregate
amount
of
genomic
data
is
growing
explosively,
and
NGS
sequencing
data
are
estimated
to
have
doubled
in
volume
annually
since
2007b
• Impressive
population-­‐wide
sequencing
efforts
are
leading
the
way,
from
100,000
genomes
in
England,
Saudi
Arabia,
and
Iceland
to
350,000
in
Qatar
to
a
million
in
both
China
and
the
U.S.
• And
earlier
this
month,
the
CEO
of
the
Cleveland
Clinic
predicted
that
soon
children
will
routinely
have
their
whole
genomes
sequenced
at
birth,
implying
a
near-­‐future
in
which
10s
of
millions
of
new
genomes
are
sequenced
annually.c
• sources:
a
http://omicsmaps.com/;
b
http://www.genengnews.com/issue/toc/248/;
c
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/30/gene-­‐testing-­‐set-­‐for-­‐major-­‐breakthrough-­‐clinic-­‐ceo.html

4. Creating
Big
Data
is
Just
the
Beginning
• Analysis
of
big
data
in
genomics
and
associated
informatics
is
already
generating
significant
progress
in
cancer
care
and
the
diagnosis
of
rare
diseases.
• Yet
there
is
a
broad
consensus
that
a
‘data
bottleneck’
is
hampering
the
collaboration
and
discovery
that
could
continue
to
revolutionize
heathcare.
• In
order
to
use
genetic
information
to
prevent
or
treat
disease,
researchers
and
physicians
need
resources
that:
– Draw
together
useful
data
from
disparate
sources;
– Facilitate
analysis
and
collaboration;
and
– Improve
clinical
practice.

5. Turning
Data
into
Resources
• The
power
of
genomic
analysis
needs
to
expand
outward:
– from
major
research
centers
and
hospitals
– to
the
myriad
clinics
and
community
hospitals
where
many
patients
receive
care.
• To
have
the
greatest
impact
on
the
broadest
population,
clinicians
throughout
the
world’s
health
systems
need
access
to
the
big
data
generated
by
DNA
sequencing,
even
– or
perhaps
especially
– if
they
are
not
affiliated
with
research
institutions.
• And
along
with
access,
they
need
tools
to
analyze
and
interpret
the
data.

6. Answers
in
the
Cloud
• Key
medical
advancements
require
not
only
big
data,
but
also
tools
and
resources
to
generate,
interpret,
and
share
analysis
of
millions
of
genomes.
• Cloud-­‐based
platforms
– such
as
WuXi NextCODE’s Exchange
– are
essential
to
address
the
fundamental
big
data
challenge
of
genomics:
leveraging
massive
datasets
to
improve
patient
care
in
the
clinic.
• Collaboration
in
the
cloud
works
to
dismantle
existing
‘data
silos,’
genomic
information
hosted
only
on
local
servers
and
analyzed
on
idiosyncratic,
closed
platforms.
• The
WuXi NextCODE Exchange,
in
contrast,
is
a
browser-­‐based
hub
that:
– affords
secure,
seamless
collaboration
with
colleagues
around
the
world;
– provides
access
to
NextCODE’s tools
for
making
the
critical
links
between
variation
in
the
genome
and
disease
and
other
phenotypes;
and
– supports
analysis
with
harmonized
links
to
the
the
most
important
public
reference
data.

7. The
Evolution
of
Genomic
Analysis
• The
big
data
of
genomics
will
continue
to
expand,
and
our
approaches
to
analyzing
genomic
data
need
to
continue
to
evolve
to
meet
the
growing
demands
of
clinicians
and
researchers.
• At
WuXi NextCODE:
– We
are
building
upon
our
heritage
of
conducting
the
largest
analysis
of
genomic
data
(deCODE’s path-­‐breaking
Icelandic
analysis)
by
assembling
an
ever-­‐growing
database
of
human
genomes.
– We
are
committed
to
driving
the
movement
of
sequence
data
into
patient
diagnosis
and
care
through
user-­‐friendly,
leading-­‐edge
analysis
and
informatics.
• I
am
confident
that
data
analysis
and
collaboration
in
the
cloud
will
revolutionize
healthcare,
and
exceptionally
proud
that
WuXi NextCODE’s
Exchange
is
at
the
forefront
of
this
exciting
advancement.