Google Cloud Platform Blog: Google Genomics and Broad Institute Team Up to Tackle Genomic Data

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Google Genomics and Broad Institute Team Up to Tackle Genomic Data

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

One of the fastest growing types of biological data is the As, Cs, Gs, and Ts of DNA sequencing -- already in the tens of petabytes and on track to reach exabytes. With today’s high-throughput sequencing technology, it’s much easier to generate genomic data than to transform it into information or knowledge that can improve human health. That’s why Google Genomics and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard are teaming up to combine the power, security, and scale of Google Cloud Platform with Broad Institute’s expertise in scientific analysis.

Google Genomics

To deal with genomic information at scale, the life science community needs new technologies to store, process, explore, and share. Two years ago, with this in mind, we formed Google Genomics to help the life science community organize the world’s genomic information and make it accessible and useful, using some of the same technologies that power Google services like Search and Maps. Meanwhile, over the past decade Broad Institute has collected and either sequenced or genotyped the equivalent of more than 1.4 million biological samples. Just as important, Broad has developed and openly shared many of the most trusted methods for processing the resulting data, enabling valuable scientific discoveries, with hundreds of published findings in top journals.
In order to scale up by the next order of magnitude, Broad and Google will work together to explore how to build new tools and find new insights to propel biomedical research, using deep bioinformatics expertise, powerful analytics, and massive computing infrastructure. Collaboration between the world’s premier genomics and biomedical research center and the most advanced computing infrastructure can help develop a new generation of tools and services that will enable scientists – from large academic institutions, commercial organizations, or small research labs in remote corners of the world – to uncover a wealth of biological insight.
Our collaboration is a natural fit. We share many deep values -- a passion for being the best at what we do, a belief in the power of technology to improve life, a focus on the end beneficiaries of our work, and a track record of creating the innovations that lead our industries.
Eric Lander, President and Director of Broad Institute said, “Large-scale genomic information is accelerating scientific progress in cancer, diabetes, psychiatric disorders and many other diseases. Storing, analyzing and managing these data is becoming a critical challenge for biomedical researchers. We are excited to work with Google’s talented and experienced engineers to develop ways to empower researchers around the world by making it easier to access and use genomic information.”

Our first joint product is Broad Institute GATK on Google Cloud Platform, a managed service available now as an alpha release to a limited set of users. GATK, the Genome Analysis Toolkit, has become the standard for converting raw genomic data into reliable information about genetic variants. By running GATK as a service through Google Genomics, scientists can be more confident that they’re processing their data according to the best practices, without worrying about managing IT infrastructure. Google provides the infrastructure, and Broad provides the trusted analysis methods.

Through our collaboration with Broad Institute and our work with the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health and the life science community, we believe we can make a difference in improving human health. By making it easier for researchers to ask big questions and find answers amid complexity, we hope to unleash scientific creativity that could significantly improve our understanding of health and disease. We are at the beginning of a genomics-driven healthcare revolution, and it’s a privilege to be contributing to it with organizations like the Broad.

Visit the GATK forum and www.broadinstitute.org/google to learn more.

- Posted by Jonathan Bingham, Product Manager, Google Genomics