Phase 1 of the sequence services project successfully wrapped up in April at our inaugural conference, where four vendors demonstrated proof-of-concept systems providing cloud access to public and proprietary gene sequences.
Now sequence services moves on to Phase 2, which will apply the concepts developed in Phase 1 to next-generation sequencing data. Kudos to Giles Ratcliffe, a seasoned informatics professional most recently with Pfizer, who has helped develop the specifications for Phase 2. Phase 2 will provide a platform for end-to-end sequence analysis that will include public reference sequence data and a suite of core applications.
A detailed requirements specification for Phase 2 has been developed and will be discussed in an open teleconference and WebEx on 22 July 2011.
Learn more about the Phase 2 teleconference »
We were overwhelmed by the interest in the first Pistoia Alliance Conference, held in Boston just before BioITWorld on April 12, 2011. Our hosts, Thomson Reuters, did all they could to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend, and we're sorry that we still had to turn people away. Still, the energy in the room was palpable and attendees praised the meeting's focus and opportunity to network with like-minded peers. Plans are already in place to hold the conference again next year.