News

Keep up with the latest news from the NCI Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT) and the data science communities.

A new publication using NCI funding and resources shows that a machine learning model, called Panoptes, allowed cancer researchers to reliably predict subtypes of endometrial cancer. Such “computational pathology” offers a useful framework for supporting human pathologists, trimming the labor needed to interpret histological findings to under 4 minutes per slide, and eliminating the time and cost of genetic sequencing.

CBIIT Director, Dr. Tony Kerlavage, along with NCI staff and a host of experts in childhood cancer research, recently published an article, “Cancer Informatics for Cancer Centers (CI4CC): Scientific Drivers for Informatics, Data Science, and Care in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer,” in JCO Cancer Clinical Informatics. The article summarizes the Fall 2020 CI4CC Symposium and showcases the scope of initiatives underway to address childhood cancer, with a particular emphasis on how data science and informatics are helping to support these initiatives.

The relaunched monthly CWIG webinar series will invite researchers from across the globe to discuss the latest advancements in cloud computing technologies, workflow, tools, and packages.

Cancer clinicians, cancer biologists, and computational experts should apply to attend the four Combination Therapies for Cancer Treatment Micro Labs. Participants will work in teams and share ideas, expertise, data, code, results, and more, as well as explore opportunities for new data science and research collaborations. Each team will form, pitch, and refine plans for interdisciplinary strategies, priorities, projects, campaigns, and innovative approaches that advance scientific questions about cancer combinations therapies. One team may receive funding for their project.

Applications are now being accepted for the NCI-DOE Collaboration Workshop Series on radiation oncology. Join multidisciplinary experts from basic science, clinical practice, and computational science to explore emerging and futuristic opportunities to advance radiation therapy.

Drs. Daoud Meerzaman of NCI’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT) and Barbara K. Dunn of NCI’s Biometry Research Group recently served as Guest Editors for a special virtual issue of the journal, Frontiers in Oncology. This collection of articles shows how ‘omics data are helping scientists to better understand the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer. The issue explores the full range of ‘omics findings, from identifying biomarkers for diagnosing and treating cancer, to uncovering the mechanisms for disease.