NIAID Funds Cutting-Edge Genomics and Bioinformatics Programs

NIAID Funds Cutting-Edge Genomics and Bioinformatics Programs

NIAID has announced six awards to continue the Genomics Centers for Infectious Diseases (GCIDs) and Bioinformatics Resource Centers (BRCs) for Infectious Diseases, both important data science networks offering critical resources for the scientific community. NIAID expects to commit approximately $19.1 million per year to fund the five-year programs.The awards mark the 20^th anniversaries of the GCID and BRC programs and extend NIAID's history of investing in cutting-edge pathogen genomics and bioinformatics research - the relatively new field of using patient gene sequences and computer analysis to identify, predict and prevent disease.

The GCIDs and BRCs provide public access to high-quality genomic data and data analytics technologies, tools, and training to facilitate discoveries by researchers studying viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, other eukaryotic pathogens, and vectors. In addition, in the event of an infectious disease outbreak, the GCID and BRC programs offer network expertise and resources and provide a coordinated research response.

For example, the GCIDs use innovative, large-scale genomics technology and bioinformatics tools to find specific genetic sequences to explain how pathogens cause disease and whether pathogens are resistant to available treatments. GCID studies can enhance understanding of infection mechanisms, track pathogen transmission dynamics, and improve detection - all leading to better diagnostics, prevention, treatment, and pathogen elimination strategies.

For more information, visit the GCID program website.

The BRCs are publicly accessible online resources that include data on pathogens, vectors, and hosts. The newly funded BRCs will have four primary objectives:

1. To provide integrated data and bioinformatics resources for infectious diseases.
2. To develop advanced innovative bioinformatics technologies, software, and tools to accelerate basic and applied human infectious diseases research.
3. To offer state-of-the-art bioinformatics trainings, educational materials, and other community outreach activities for the infectious diseases research community in the United States and globally.
4. To offer cutting-edge bioinformatics resources and analytics in response to emerging needs, outbreaks, and public health emergencies consistent with NIAID's mission.

The newly funded BRCs will align with the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Scienceand incorporate globally distributed repositories and analytical capabilities that will be strengthened by a program-wide commitment to FAIR data principlesand collaborative work. All three funded centers will conduct activities and advance research across all four programmatic objectives and will become operational soon after the awards are made. Two centers, the Bioinformatics Resource Analytics Center(BRC.analytics) and the Pathogen Data Networkwill address all pathogen types relevant to the NIAID mission and will continue to make available bioinformatics data compiled during previous funding periods from eukaryotic pathogens and vectors, and from bacteria and viruses. Both centers will have a specific focus on advancing the knowledge base and tools for bioinformatics analysis of eukaryotic genomes but will also advance technologies for bacterial and viral bioinformatics. The Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center(BV-BRC) will continue its focus on bacterial and viral pathogens, and bioinformatics data compiled for bacteria and viruses during previous funding periods will be found on its site.

Bioinformatics infrastructure advances anticipated include: providing uniform and easy access to numerous pathogen-relevant external resources; integrating infectious diseases data with additional human and clinical data; and providing large-scale automated bioinformatics workflows and dataset management.

The BRC program is expected to enhance NIAID's outbreak and pandemic preparedness response by offering accessible platforms that integrate public health, pathogen and other data. For more information, visit the BRC program website.

GCID award recipients are:

The Center for Advancing Genomic, Transcriptomic and Functional Approaches to Combat Globally Important and Emerging Pathogens

• Principal Investigator/Director: Daniel Neafsey, Ph.D.
• Institute: Broad Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

The Center for Integrated Genomics of Mucosal Infections

• Principal Investigator/Director: Joseph Petrosino, Ph.D.
• Institute: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

The Michigan Infectious Disease Genomics (MIDGE) Center

• Principal Investigator/Director: Adam Lauring, M.D., Ph.D.
• Institute: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

BRC award recipients are:

The Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center (BV-BRC)

• Principal Investigator/Director: Rick Stevens, Ph.D.
• Institute: University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The Bioinformatics Resource Analytics Center (BRC.analytics)

• Principal Investigator/Director: Anton Nekrutenko, Ph.D.
• Institute: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

The Pathogen Data Network

• Principal Investigator/Director: Aitana Neves, Ph.D.
• Institute: Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland

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