Bioinformatics Shared Resource (BISR)

Getting Started 

Internal users should learn more via the Inside MD Anderson intranet homepage by typing “Bioinformatics” in the search bar. You also can find Bioinformatics in the A-Z Storefronts directory on the Inside MD Anderson top ribbon. Once on the Bioinformatics homepage, click on the Collaboration Request Form button, and then complete and submit the form to request services.

There are weekly clinics for advice and simple questions, as well as a faculty member liaison designated as a contact for each relevant MD Anderson department. That faculty member may not be the one to provide support on a given project, but can pass information to others. As you would expect, the human resources for support are finite, but the BISR aims to provide what it can.

Impact

The computer is becoming more and more important as a tool in biomedical research – and so is computational expertise. Analysis of today’s large, complex datasets and methodologies cannot safely be left to those who know only enough to turn the crank on existing software without understanding the underlying mathematical/statistical principles.

The Bioinformatics Shared Resource (BISR) provides such expertise for collaborative support of MD Anderson’s basic science, translational, and clinical research communities in study design, scripting of algorithms, omic data analysis, applications of artificial intelligence, and other such bioinformatic activities. Interpretation is often a shared activity of bioinformaticians and biomedical domain experts. Clinical trial management and clinical regulatory issues are largely the responsibility of the Department of Biostatistics. Studies at the preclinical level (which may involve clinical data) are the principal focus of the BISR. BISR members provide active support for MD Anderson researchers on publications and grants, as well for the research as it is performed.

The BISR has received the highest rating, “Exceptional,” in the last two Cancer Center Support Grant site visits.

Contact

Mid Campus Building (1MC)
12th Floor
7007 Bertner Ave., Houston, TX 77030
Phone: 713-792-2600

Core Director:
John N Weinstein, M.D., Ph.D. 
Chair, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
jweinste@mdanderson.org

Core Co-director: 
Jing Wang, Ph.D.
Professor, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
jingwang@mdanderson.org

Xuemei Wang, M.S.
Director, Quantitative Research, Biostatistics
xuewang@mdanderson.org