An Information-Driven Approach to Pharmacogenomics

Abstract

Effective information management of the pharmacogenomics discipline presents many unique challenges. Genetic and genomic data generated via high-throughput methods need to be integrated with phenotypic data which are defined at multiscale levels, ranging from the molecular to the clinical level. Repositories storing these data are distributed and vary in terms of syntax and semantics which result in issues concerning data exchange and integration. The application of the emerging semantic web offers a promising solution to these interoperability issues.

Keywords::

• bioinformatics
• GRID
• ontology
• Semantic Web
• web service

Acknowledgments

Mr Vyas wishes to acknowledge the Department of Information Science at Loughborough University for their part funding of conference participation, on which the ideas for this paper were borne. Dr Summers received support from SPinformatics Ltd for the same.