# The Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV): visualization supporting cancer research

> **NIH NIH U24** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $762,273

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Driven by new and emerging technologies for data acquisition, integrative genomic studies are revolutionizing
the way we approach the study of cancer and other diseases, and charting the way to novel treatment
regimens. They require the high-throughput generation and analysis of multiple, and often complex, types of
genomic data. To address this challenge, and in active collaboration with end users, we developed a broadly
applicable Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV). IGV is a high-performance, user-friendly tool used by over
100,000 investigators and clinicians worldwide for the interactive exploration of large, integrated genomic
datasets. The goal of this project is to ensure that IGV continues to track and respond to advances in genomics
technology and changing user needs, and maintains its high level of utility for the cancer research community.
We will accomplish this through our three specific aims as described below.
Aim 1. To ensure that the IGV continues to keep pace with new and emerging technologies and the
changing cancer research environment we will develop new and improved IGV views of, e.g., long range
genomic events, physical proximity data, and more. In recognition of the biomedical community's increasing
use of the cloud, we will ensure efficient and accessible visualization of cloud data and seamless integration
with analysis workflows. An IGV Advisory Board will ensure we are best tracking technologies and user needs.
Aim 2. To enhance, refine, and maintain IGV to best support cancer researchers in their work we will
develop new features and updates based on feedback and suggestions from the IGV user community. We will
also take advantage of external resources that are valuable for cancer research, as well as development in
support of other projects that use IGV in their own applications and resources. Special attention will be paid to
collaborations and initiatives within the Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) family of tools.
Aim 3. To provide training, support, and outreach activities for the cancer research community we will
continue to provide our email help desk, workshops and documentation to help both the user and developer
communities take best advantage of IGV. Importantly, we will develop a new collection of focused IGV
“sketches” to walk users through visualization tasks with high utility.
We have extensive experience in software engineering, including the development and distribution of IGV and
other software tools used by hundreds of thousands of biomedical researchers and clinicians worldwide. We
will continue our user-driven development approach working closely with large genomics projects like The
Cancer Genome Atlas, NCI supported software projects like the Cancer Genomics Cloud Pilots and the ITCR
program, as well as numerous single-investigator studies. IGV's current success, flexible architecture, and our
plan to support external development make us well poised to ac...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9980796
- **Project number:** 5U24CA210004-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** JILL P. MESIROV
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $762,273
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9980796

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9980796, The Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV): visualization supporting cancer research (5U24CA210004-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9980796. Licensed CC0.

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