The Importance of Informatics

21st century approaches to life science research and development depend on translating information into knowledge – that is, the ability to amass and analyze huge amounts of both molecular and clinical data in order to identify the patterns or "signatures" of the disease process and to develop therapeutics to control or stop that process.

Although information technology has permeated virtually every part of our lives in recent decades, the biomedical research enterprise and the healthcare system have been slow to shift from traditional and labor intensive methods of information capture, storage, and analysis.

As a result, there are many challenges to overcome. For example, there is a growing volume of molecular data to collect, aggregate, and correlate, but there are few tools that enable easy access and analysis of the data. Different types of information – from genetic, clinical, and laboratory tests – often reside in different physical locations, with no electronic means of connecting them. In addition, common vocabularies for describing disease characteristics have generally not been adopted by physicians, making it difficult to compare or validate research. The information technology systems that have been implemented at many scientific, academic, and medical institutions typically cannot "talk" to each other, making it virtually impossible to easily share data between institutions.

There is an urgent need to catch up – to develop and adopt the information technology and tools needed to facilitate the discovery of the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. Biomedical informatics can enable the seamless flow of information from laboratory bench to patient bedside that is essential to improving clinical outcomes.

caBIG^® is the technology infrastructure that enables the cancer community to realize the promise of molecular medicine.