Bioinformatics Program

Overview

The mission of the Bioinformatics Program at the BWH Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) is to support projects that ensure rapid access of Partners patients and patient information to BWH investigators so that advances in basic science can be converted into health care strategies in the least amount of time possible.

Bioinformatics can be defined as the application of information technology (IT) to support the storage, analysis and interpretation of the vast amounts of data arising from biological research (predominantly genetic and genomic research). The field of bioinformatics is indispensable to biology. It is necessary for a large range of activities including determining how certain proteins react with others in specific diseases, designing a drug so that it is maximally effective against its target, and analyzing the turning on and turning off of particular genes of interest in normal vs. disease condition. In short, robust IT infrastructure is required to handle the ever-increasing quantity of data from biomedical research thereby enabling scientists to translate the secrets of the human genome into medical advances that could benefit all of us.

The Bioinformatics Program at the BWH Biomedical Research Institute supports several research initiatives at BWH including those focusing on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma genetics, cardiovascular genetics, pharmacogenetics, and preventive medicine.

For more information about the Bioinformatics Program, email bwhbri@partners.org.