Missions, History, and Tasks
History
HPCBio was formed in 2012 as a collaborative effort between multiple partners in the University community:
- The Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center and their expertise in biological data generation and analysis with their original bioinformatics core,
- The genomics research agenda of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology(IGB), building on research expertise from IGB faculty and affiliates.
- And technical expertise in high-performance computing the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) via the NCSA Genomics group
We continue to work with IGB, NCSA, and other UIUC research units in advancement of our original core missions
Missions
The core missions of HPCBio are two-fold:
- To provide a first class infrastructure for bioinformatics, combining hardware, software, databases, training, consulting and services;
- To perform applied research in biological computing, with a view to develop and maintain innovative, robust and validated software that leverages both the latest data generation technologies and advances in computer architectures.
Tasks
HPCBio is a single-stop facility for all campus researchers requiring computational resources and expertise for biomedical research. Its activities include the following:
- Design, develop and maintain a high-performance computing environment tailored to the needs of life science research
- Develop and maintain up-to-date software and databases including Web-based cyberenvironments to serve the diverse needs of the life sciences research community
- Organize training in the optimal use of bioinformatics software and methods, from both a conceptual and a practical standpoint
- Provide consulting, advice and personalized services to researchers across campus, enabling them to efficiently manage and analyze high-throughput datasets
- Perform applied research and development activities in the field of high-performance computing applied to biological and medical problems
- Provide computational infrastructure and support to the Carver Biotechnology Center
