IBM Life Sciences Institutes of Innovation to be dedicated

IU's status as one of the charter universities in the IBM Life Sciences Institutes of Innovation program will be formally recognized on September 25, 3:30pm-5pm, with a ceremony at the Wrubel Computing Center, 2711 E. 10th Street, Bloomington. James Coffin, vice president, IBM Life Science Solutions, will present IU with a plaque dedicating the Institute of Innovation. IU graduate and IBM General Manager, Global ISV Solutions Sales Mark Elliott will also be on hand for the dedication ceremony.

IU's Institutes of Innovation award will focus the collaborative strengths of IU and IBM Research expertise on 3D cell modeling. Using computer programs developed at IU and built on IBM systems and middleware such as IBM WebSphere, researchers will create a computer-based simulator of living cells that accurately models cell processes using genomic, proteomic, and cell physiological data. This research is the focus of Peter J. Ortoleva, director of IU's Center for Cell and Virus Theory and of James A. Glazier, director of IU's Biocomplexity Institute. IBM will support part of this research activity and aid in grid-enabling these applications.

The event dedicating IU as an Institute of Innovation highlights the strengths of IU and IBM in advanced computing for the life sciences. Indiana University's commitment to remaining at the forefront of the life sciences revolution involves many areas of research and development, including the IU School of Medicine, the Indiana Genomics Initiative, and efforts such as the Institute of Innovation, that focus on the basic science departments of IU Bloomington. The collaborative work and research efforts that will be supported by the Institutes of Innovation award will help advance basic scientific understanding of biological processes and will be of tremendous practical value in developing and verifying new drugs.

"This initiative is yet another sign of Indiana University's dedication to developing the new research and development facilities that form the basis for growth of the high-tech economy in the State of Indiana," said Michael A. McRobbie, IU's vice president for information technology, chief information officer, and vice president for research.

Demonstrations at the dedication ceremony will include the most up-to-date versions of the software being developed in the labs of Drs. Glazier and Ortoleva, the results of 3D cell modeling efforts, and the new IU-IBM jointly developed Centralized Life Sciences Database Service. This powerful information system, created by IU/IBM collaboration, is in use at the IU School of Medicine, and is helping transform the way researchers investigate the origins of disease. It enables researchers to access a wealth of collective knowledge about genes and proteins in their search to understand and combat the sources of disease and dysfunction. This project is led by Andrew D. Arenson, principal INGEN data specialist for University Information Technology Services.

IBM Life Sciences Institutes of Innovation program is a global initiative that recognizes academic research institutions that are making outstanding contributions to life sciences research and helps foster knowledge and technology transfer in the life sciences community. For information about the IBM Life Sciences Institutes of Innovation program, see:

http://www-3.ibm.com/solutions/lifesciences/news/innovation.html

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