Entry Date:
August 2, 2006

Integration of Experimental Data from Different Sources

Principal Investigator C Dewey


A second major program within the Dewey lab is the development of robust information systems for biological data. The goal is to develop a common technology that will capture data from all of the major experimental systems in a single ontological framework. We have implemented this approach for gel electrophoresis, microarrays and fluorescence-activated cell sorting, demonstrating that data from these diverse sources can be stored and interrogated within a single database or an integrated network of databases. Currently we are incorporating mass spectrometry and optical microscopy into this system. This cross-disciplinary data integration effort is being made compatible with efforts by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to support open and public interchange of life sciences data using tools of the Semantic Web. Work in biological standards is based on a model that was pioneered by the International Consortium for Medical Imaging Technology (ICMIT), which we founded to develop and implement international data standards in medical imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized axial tomography (CT), ultrasound and X-rays.

This work is based on a model that was pioneered by the International Consortium for Medical Information Technology (ICMIT), which we founded to develop and implement international data standards in medical imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized axial tomography (CT) and X-rays. The Co-Director of the ICMIT is Prof. Richard Kitney of Imperial College in London.