2010 Best Practices Competition IT & Informatics HPC

Published Resources for the Life Sciences
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Knowledge Management: Data mining, idea/expertise mining, text mining, collaboration,
resource optimization
Health‐IT: ePrescribing, RHIOs, EMR/PHR
Manufacturing & Bioprocessing: Mass production, continuous manufacturing
(Bio‐IT World reserves the right to re‐categorize submissions based on submission or in the event that
a category is refined.)
6. Description of project (4 FIGURES MAXIMUM):
A. ABSTRACT/SUMMARY of the project and results (150 words max.)
High-content screening (HCS) data has unique requirements that are not supported by
traditional high-throughput screening databases. Effective analysis and interpretation of
the screen data requires ability to designate separate positive and negative controls for
different measurements in multiplexed assays.
The fundamental requirements are the ability to capture information on the cell lines,
fluorescent reagents and treatments in each assay; the ability to store and utilize
individual-cell and image data; and the ability to support HCS readers and software from
multiple vendors along with third-party image analysis tools. The system supports target
identification, lead discovery, lead evaluation and lead profiling activities.
The solution was designed using a combination of complimentary technologies that later
became part of best practices at Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Research Informatics. The image
data generated by HCS processes is over 50 TB over five years and has seen exponential
growth trends. Database and data logistics were built using Oracle (11g) partitioning
techniques, Isilon storage was used to handle unstructured data and EMC for relational
data. Application was built using techniques like external tables, caching, materialized
views, parallel queries and used .Net framework for business rules and visualizations.
Statistical functions in Oracle API libraries were leveraged for analysis.
INTRODUCTION/background/objectives
High content screening (HCS) has demonstrated utility at multiple points in the drug
discovery process including target identification, target validation, lead identification, lead
evaluation and profiling 1 , mechanism of action determination 2 and toxicology
assessment 3 . Within a single organization, HCS may be used for multiple purposes with
distinct groups and even instruments supporting different stages of drug discovery. The