The 4D Nucleome Network—Adding a New Dimension to Genomic Data

Harvard Medical School’s Four-Dimensional Nucleome (4DN) Data Coordination and Integration Center (DCIC) is hosting a 1-hour web-based tutorial to help researchers discover, access, and use data from the 4DN Network.

Senior Data Curator Dr. Andrew Schroeder will show attendees how to navigate the DCIC web portal, which serves as a repository for data generated by the 4DN Network members.

Topics include:

• finding data using standardized metadata.
• downloading data files.
• visualizing data using HiGlass, a web-based tool for comparing and exploring genome interaction maps.
• accessing tools in the portal for bioinformatics analyses.

Attendees also will learn about key data collections and resources, as well as information on how to access a JupyterHub site to perform data exploration within the cloud.

The 4DN program is a research program funded by NIH’s Common Fund. The 4DN Network seeks to explore the genome beyond simple linear encoding of information along chromosomes and to examine a three-dimensional organization that changes over time (i.e., a fourth dimension).

Using 4DN data, researchers hope to discover more about how chromosomes are folded and organized in space, which has a profound effect on gene expression and, ultimately, the development of cancer and other diseases.