WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 27 — Researchers announced today that scientists running genomic analyses at George Washington University’s Colonial One High Performance Computing Center will pilot ultra high-speed 40 Gigabit per second data transfers from the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine (NLM) using both organizations’ new 100 Gigabit per second links to the Internet2 Network.

“Biomedical researchers need high-bandwidth access to the extremely large data sets used in today’s medical research,” commented Don Preuss, who heads the Systems group at the NLM’s National Center for Biotechnology Information. “Our new 100 Gigabit connection to the Internet2 backbone will provide researchers at GW and other research centers with state-of-the-art connectivity.”

“High speed transfers via Internet2’s Network will enable us to provide our genomic clients with faster results, ultimately hastening discovery and therapeutic decisions,” said Raja Mazumder, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and co-developer of the High-performance Integrated Virtual Environment (HIVE) – a genomic analysis platform. Dr. Mazumder developed HIVE in conjunction with Dr. Vahan Simonyan, currently a lead scientist at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Internet2 featured the HIVE genomic analysis platform at the SC13 supercomputing conference in Denver last November as one of the tools to meet the challenge of data-intensive research. HIVE provides a novel approach to computation that greatly speeds up the analysis of genomic data.SC is the largest international conference for high-performance computing, networking, storage and analysis.

“Internet2 is pleased to be part of this public-private collaboration. Our 100 gigabit network enables a high-performance genomics platform like HIVE to realize its full potential by removing external bottlenecks,” said Michael Sullivan, associate director, Internet2.

George Washington University connects to the Internet2 backbone network through its new research network, the Capital Area Advanced Research and Education Network (CAAREN). CAAREN provides high-performance research and education infrastructure to government, education and research organizations, as well as some private-sector organizations, in the Washington, DC area. It will facilitate world-class research, education and knowledge sharing in the nation’s capital.

CAAREN is partnering with DC-Net, a program managed by the DC Office of the Chief Technology Officer, to provide public and private K-12 schools, public libraries, museums, hospitals and independent research organizations with access to Internet2.

CAAREN will enhance collaboration and reduce barriers to research, education and health applications, supporting the national capital region as a center of cutting-edge knowledge.

About The George Washington University

In the heart of the nation’s capital with additional programs in Virginia, the George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. The university offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study, as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 130 countries.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

About Internet2

Internet2 is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation’s leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research, and community service missions.

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Source: George Washington University