Coriell Institute Teams With IBM to Advance Personalized Medicine

ARMONK, N.Y. and CAMDEN, N.J., July 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — IBM
(NYSE: IBM) today announced that
Coriell Institute for Medical Research, the largest biobank of
living human cells, is using IBM technology to advance its
research of human genetic disease and to more efficiently maintain
its massive collection of biological resources.

As a result, Coriell can now better protect millions of genetic
samples while also increasing its capacity to manage the volume of
data generated by analyzing the genomes of large and diverse
populations needed to examine the causes of critical diseases such
as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

As a vital player in modern biomedical research, Coriell manages
cryogenic freezers that can house up to 48,000 samples and which
may experience a mechanical failure while in use.  In the
past, response teams had only been alerted in the event of a total
failure of the unit requiring the staff to quickly move the
biological samples to a standby unit.   With the
implementation of IBM monitoring software, Coriell researchers are
now instantly alerted in advance to quickly respond before
any mechanical failure occurs and in turn, protect the integrity of
the sample.

Coriell’s ‘Big Data’ challenge

Scientists from major research centers around the world draw
upon Coriell’s diverse collections of biomaterials, which contain
cell lines, DNA, and other samples, representing more than half of
 approximately 4,000 known genetic diseases.  In
addition, Coriell is exploring advancement in personalized medicine
using one’s genetic information to tailor individual patient
medical care while ensuring an individual’s privacy.

“The healthcare industry is placing greater emphasis on the use
of genetic information in making medical decisions,” said Scott
Megill, Coriell’s Chief Information Officer.  “As a leader in
genomics

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