Report on the Computational Infrastructure Workshop (January 22-23, 2002) for the Genomes to Life Program cont'd
Summary
GTL needs to be more than the sum of independent projects bolted together. It must have an infrastructure in which collaborators at multiple sites can interact and have access to data, high- performance computation, and storage resources. Establishing this infrastructure will involve many technical challenges, including the following:
- Creation of user-friendly tools with transparent utilization of high-performance computers and distributed databases.
- Distributed analysis of ever-increasing databases of diverse biological data for inclusion into models.
- Effective database design and database query in support of modeling.
- Integration of models into problem-solving environments and incorporation of data to determine simulation parameters and validate results.
- Streamlined data from such experimental devices as mass spectrometers, NMR systems, and light and neutron sources into both databases and models.
- Creation of network and storage infrastructure to handle next- generation bioinformatics needs.
- Bringing both experimental and modeling groups together in collaborative environments.
- Coupling of whole-cell models on petaflop-scale systems with smaller component models on workstations.
- Seamless end-user access to applications, data storage, and computer resources to support high-end modeling.
