# Data Management and Bioinformatics Core

> **NIH NIH U19** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $376,567

## Abstract

Data Management and Bioinformatics Core Project Summary:
This innovative integrated systems biology application seeks to delineate the complex host/pathogen
interactions occurring at the alveolar level that lead to unsuccessful response to therapy in serious
pneumonia. In spite of active research in this area, a generalize multi-scale solution that can support a
systems biology approach to clinical problems remains elusive. This is not surprising, given that a
general solution effectively requires modeling all of biology and medicine simultaneously. Even though
a general solution may be intractable, we believe that substantial progress can be made by focusing
on the clinical, genomic, and pathogen data for a single condition, Hospital Acquired Pneumonia (HAP).
The overall goal of the Data Management and Bioinformatics (DMBI) Core is to develop and implement
new and enhanced computational resources that support a systems biology approach to HAP, and to
share those resources broadly. The DMBI Core will sit at the nexus of SCRIPT where it will provide the
tools, methods, skills and infrastructure to collect, integrate, transform, analyze and distribute the
diverse data generated by both projects. The design and implementation of the DMBI Core is based
on the premise that genome-centric approaches and phenome-centric approaches are both inherently
scientifically limiting. Rather, a systems biology approach that gives equal weight to all data types is
more likely to produce significant findings. Achieving the broader goals of this project will require the
seamless integration of clinical data with molecular profiling data on both host and pathogen. We will
leverage our extensive experience in the integration of EHR and genomic data to design a novel graph-
based repository. The multiple sources of genomic data will be integrated with clinical phenomic data
extracted from the continuous stream of data that populates the EHR in patients in the intensive care
unit. We will utilize the data sets generated in Aim 1 for further analysis of the gene regulatory networks
using both novel computation tools and novel uses of existing tools. In particular, we will develop tailor-
made algorithms for an integrative analysis of multiple omics data sets that enable modeling of the
underlying gene regulatory networks. A multi-pronged approach to dissemination will be employed.
Datasets and metadata will be archived in the appropriate NIAID and/or NCBI archives. Computational
tools will be distributed through a GitHub repository. Of greater long term value will be the creation of
a secure, interactive web portal that will allow research to interact with the study data repository to not
only browse and filter data based on a rich section of attributes, but also to run analysis directly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10097977
- **Project number:** 5U19AI135964-04
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JUSTIN B. STARREN
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $376,567
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-01-17 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10097977

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10097977, Data Management and Bioinformatics Core (5U19AI135964-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10097977. Licensed CC0.

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