# Open Software and Resource Development Leveraging Next-gen Sequencing Data to Facilitate Computational Analysis of Cancer Biology

> **NIH NIH R50** · BROAD INSTITUTE, INC. · 2020 · $339,670

## Abstract

Project Summary
Brian Haas is an accomplished Senior Computational Biologist and bioinformatics
programmer at the Broad Institute who contributes to many cancer research activities
under the mentorship of Unit Director Aviv Regev. He has developed several very
popular open-source bioinformatics software tools to support genome and transcriptome
studies, and has authored or co-authored dozens of manuscripts in leading scientific
journals. For more than 15 years, he has leveraged genome and transcriptome
analyses to gain insights into the biology of diverse organisms, including pathogens,
animal vectors of disease, and most recently cancer. He played a critical role in
developing the NCI-funded Trinity Cancer Transcriptome Analysis Toolkit, a suite of
software that uses RNA-Seq data to capture cancer mutations, fusion transcripts,
evidence of aberrant splicing and expression, and exploration of tumor heterogeneity
through single cell transcriptome analysis.
In this NCI R50 proposal, we propose salary support for Haas under Regev's
mentorship, to support him in (1) continuing to develop open-source software for use by
the cancer research community, (2) integrating these tools into NCI-supported
infrastructures including the NCI Cloud to maximize accessibility and impact, (3)
applying these tools to large collections of cancer transcriptome data made available via
TCGA and other large-scale efforts, and (4) making the resulting findings available as
companion resources to these efforts. Based on his past contributions to bioinformatics
and scientific research and the support he has gained from the Broad Institute cancer
research programs and abroad, we believe Haas will be tremendously successful as a
NCI Cancer Research Specialist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10001054
- **Project number:** 5R50CA211461-05
- **Recipient organization:** BROAD INSTITUTE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Brian Haas
- **Activity code:** R50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $339,670
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-15 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10001054

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10001054, Open Software and Resource Development Leveraging Next-gen Sequencing Data to Facilitate Computational Analysis of Cancer Biology (5R50CA211461-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10001054. Licensed CC0.

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