Every day, NASA spacecraft beam down hundreds of petabytes of data, all of which has to be codified, stored and distributed to scientists across the globe.
Increasingly, artificial intelligence is helping to “read” this data as well, highlighting similarities between datasets that scientists might miss.
For the past 15 years, the big data techniques pioneered by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have been revolutionizing biomedical research.
The NCI-supported Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) is a consortium of biomedical investigators who share anonymized data on cancer biomarkers, chemical or genetic signatures related to specific cancers. Their goal is to pool all their research data into a single, searchable network, with the goal of translating their collective work into techniques for early diagnosis of cancer or cancer risk.
In the time they’ve worked together, JPL and EDRN‘s efforts have led to the discovery of six new Food and Drug Administration-approved cancer biomarkers and nine biomarkers approved for use in Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments labs.
The FDA has approved each of these biomarkers for use in cancer research and diagnosis. These agency-approved biomarkers have been used in more than 1 million patient diagnostic tests worldwide.
This whole program is in partnership with Devon and Leah Still’s Still Strong Foundation that helps other families battling childhood cancers. Devon posted how proud of his daughter he is:
“No better person to have by my side while trying to champion childhood cancer! We are having our 1st gala for the Still Strong Foundation on March 25 (2nd year anniversary of Leah’s remission) in Philadelphia.
If you want to be apart of this special night by purchasing tickets or being a sponsor, please send an email to [email protected]”