DNAstack, a Toronto-based genomic software company, today announced the launch of its cloud platform to accelerate genetic disease research and precision medicine. DNAstack provides push-button access to state-of-the-art genomics data analysis and sharing to help scientists more quickly and cost-effectively make sense of the world's exponentially accumulating genomics data and break down barriers to data sharing.
DNAstack is a simple, scalable, secure solution that enables management, analysis, search, and sharing of genomics datasets in the cloud. To accelerate adoption of best practices bioinformatics and open standards in data sharing, DNAstack is offering these features for free, where users pay only for cloud costs incurred for data storage and computation on the Google Cloud. DNAstack is the first commercial platform to be built on Google Genomics and is compliant with standards developed by the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health (GA4GH).
The company is paving the way for an "internet of genomes" that will help connect a global network of data sharing organizations. "The internet has vastly improved our ability to share and learn from a global knowledge base that grows in real-time," said Dr. Marc Fiume, CEO of DNAstack. "But for the most part, due to a lack of standards and simple web-accessible tools to adopt them, genomics data have been siloed from the most effective medium we have for sharing information, the internet."
The path of genomics data from sequencing to medical impact is a long and windy one. DNAstack believes this can be shortened by connecting repositories into shared networks that can be analyzed in real-time. Dr. Fiume chairs the Beacon Project as part of the GA4GH, which develops an open standard for global federated sharing of genomic information between organizations, recently described in Science. Through this work, DNAstack has developed the Beacon Network, which has quickly grown to become one of the largest search engines for publicly shared genetic variants in the world.
"Sharing data is key to unlocking insights about disease that wouldn't otherwise be possible," said Peter Goodhand, Executive Director at GA4GH. "DNAstack is contributing to global efforts to enable sharing of genomic and clinical data to advance human health. We are pleased to see that DNAstack is utilizing and sharing GA4GH tools, including the Genomics API, to allow its users to join federated networks of data sharing and knowledge exchange that are driving greater understanding of genomics, cancer, and rare disease."
DNAstack is already being used to support world-class research in Toronto. "The genomes of patients with rare and complex disorders are unique," said Dr. Stephen Scherer, Director of The Centre for Applied Genomics at The Hospital for Sick Children and the Autism Speaks MSSNG Genome Sequencing Project. "Collection, sharing, and analysis of millions of genomes will be necessary to develop a precise understanding of the genetic underpinnings of disease. DNAstack is developing much-needed technologies to support advancement in disease research through its integrated solution that marries analytical software tools with emerging global standards for open-science and collaboration."
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About DNAstack
DNAstack develops a cloud-based platform for genomics data analysis and sharing. Through collaborations with Google and the Global Alliance for Genomics & Health, DNAstack provides push-button access to state-of-the-art technologies to help researchers, clinical laboratories, and pharmaceutical companies more quickly and cost-effectively make sense of the world's exponentially accumulating genomics data and break down barriers to data sharing.