Indiana University Founds the National Center for Genome Analysis Support: Now Open for Business

U.S. researchers are in the midst of dramatic developments in genome sequencing capabilities, driven by the availability of high throughput, low cost next-generation gene sequencers. To address the scientific challenges presented by this new wealth of gene sequence information, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Indiana University a grant (NSF Award #1062432 - ABI Development: National Center for Genome Analysis Support) to establish the National Center for Genome Analysis Support (NCGAS). NCGAS will support the use of genome analysis software, store the data sets, and curate open source genome analysis software. As an example, installed assemblers now include: SOAPdenovo, Velvet, ABySS, Celera Assembler, Allpaths, Arachne 2, and BMA+1. A specific goal is to provide dedicated access to large memory supercomputers, such as IU's new Mason system. Each Mason compute node has 500GB of random access memory, critical for data-intensive science applications such as genome assembly. Mason's integration with the new NSF-funded Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) will provide campus-based integration known as "campus bridging." IU's NCGAS partners include the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), and will support software running on supercomputers at TACC and SDSC, as well as other supercomputers that are part of XSEDE. NCGAS services will include: Consulting services for biologists who want to undertake genome analysis on our systems; Assistance in running genome analysis software on our systems; Hardened and optimized genome analysis software; An equitable and easy to use process for NCGAS allocations.