Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core

Project Summary Recent advances in sequencing technologies provide a wealth of genotype and expression data. In combination with high-quality clinical phenotype data, these data can provide key insights into ophthalmic disease. However, most labs do not have the capabilities required to efficiently use large-scale genotype and phenotype data. The Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core (BBC) will enhance the research activities of the NEI-funded investigators at The University of Iowa by providing access to computational researchers experienced in state-of-the-art procedures for statistical analysis and bioinformatics. BBC personnel will have access to multiple high-performance computing platforms, including dedicated access to computing resources on Argon, The University of Iowa’s high-performance computing cluster. The availability of a centralized core offering experiment design and analytic services will allow investigators to focus their resources on the science and discoveries underlying vision research while still being able to gain full access to high-quality and standardized expertise in highly-specialized analytic techniques and theory. Training of the vision research community is a critical aspect of the BBC with an emphasis towards understanding the capabilities and limitations of biomedical experiments that leverage our ever-improving technology. The BBC’s core-based services will yield more reproducible and well-powered analyses and in turn maximize the ability of NEI-funded investigators to make new discoveries.