Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Bioinformatics Core

The institute is housed in state-of-the-art facilities with over 130,000 square feet of space on the Virginia Tech campus, the nearby corporate research center and in offices in the new Virginia Tech National Capital Region building in Washington, D.C. (Glebe Road, Arlington, VA). By using bioinformatics and medical informatics, which combines transdisciplinary approaches to information technology and biomedicine, researchers at VBI create, interpret and apply vast amounts of biological data generated from basic research to some of today’s key challenges in the biomedical, environmental and agricultural sciences. The institute develops genomic, proteomic and bioinformatic tools and databases to study genomes and diseases for the discovery of new vaccine, drug and diagnostic targets for humans and the species upon which they depend to improve our quality of life, health and security.

Work at VBI involves collaboration in diverse disciplines such as: mathematics, computer science, biology, medicine, pathology, biochemistry, systems biology, statistics, economics, and synthetic biology. Transdisciplinary research at the institute encompasses four scientific research divisions: Advanced Computing and Informatics Laboratories, the Cyberinfrastructure Division, the Biosystems Division, and the Medical Informatics and Systems Division which address our national priorities via support from government (NIH, DTRA, DOE, DOD, NSF, USDA and many others), non-profit foundations and corporations.

Research at VBI with over 700 external ‘user/collaborators’ is expedited by the latest “-omics” technology, high performance computing, programming, statistical and data analysis resources. Some highlights of the institute’s facilities include:

The Computational Core encompasses more than 10 TB of RAM, 2,600 standard processor cores, 7,000 GPGPU CUDA cores, and 3 FPGA hybrid core systems distributed across 200 servers and clusters, with more than a petabyte of disk storage and over 5 petabytes of automated tape storage that has a peak capacity of 50 petabytes. The large support staff provides a secure, stable, and manageable infrastructure for data-intensive research. Gigabit Ethernet and InfiniBand networks connect machines to the Internet, Internet2 and National Lambda Rail networks.
The “-omics”-driven Genomics Research Laboratory provides genomic and transcriptomic technologies including DNA sequencing and fragment analysis; Affymetrix GeneChip microarray design and analysis, custom microarray design and analysis in conjunction with Affymetrix and Roche/Nimblegen; nextgen sequencing including Ion Torrent and Illumina Hi-seq and Mi-seq high-throughput sequencing systems.
The Data Analysis Core provides researchers with cost effective data analysis and interpretation for all “-omics” data types, from terabyte-sized nextgen sequences or hundreds of microarray experiments to actionable information and manuscript-ready figures and text. In conjunction with the Genomics Research Laboratory, this group has assembled and analyzed hundreds of de novo genomes, including the domestic turkey, woodland strawberry, and hundreds of pathogens and field isolates via a host of commercial and custom software packages.
In-house statisticians and biostatisticians provide services and conduct unique statistical methods research using a host of tools and techniques.
To enhance its cutting-edge research and service offerings, VBI’s Business Development office supports translation of its discoveries while an Education and Outreach group interacts with over 5,000 students and teachers at all levels each year to identify and encourage the best and brightest new scientists.