Core B: Biostatistics / Bioinformatics

CORE B BIOSTATISTICS AND BIOINFORMATICS – PROJECT SUMMARY The Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Core (BBC) provides statistical, and bioinformatics, and computational biology collaboration and data management support for each of the Hepatobiliary Cancer (HBC) SPORE projects, developmental research and career enhancement projects, pilot projects and the other cores. The BBC has been active in preparing the statistical plan for each of the four projects in this application related to study design, analysis, and bioinformatics needs. The BBC builds upon the innovative and time-tested procedures and systems developed by Mayo Clinic, one of the largest statistical groups in the country whose members have collaborated on more than 13,000 clinical and basic science research studies since 1966. In the upcoming funding period, the Specific Aims of the BBC are as follows: Aim 1. Provide statistical and bioinformatics collaboration for each of the HBC SPORE projects, the developmental research program projects, the career enhancement program projects and the cores. We will provide statistical and bioinformatics support across different fields, including clinical trials, basic sciences including translational and immunologic correlative studies, sequencing and mutation discovery, expression analysis and genomics, and information management. Aim 2. Provide management and integration of existing and newly collected data through consistent and compatible data handling. Areas of support will include database development, data forms development and processing, data collection and entry, data archiving, quality control, and management of information relating to gene mutation identification. All of the clinical trials proposed in this application will take advantage of the extensive infrastructure available to trials through the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (MCCC), With multiple types of molecular and genomic measurements already processed through the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we will develop a centralized database to organize processed level-3 molecular and genomic data, and connect these data with a registry database for detailed clinical records, follow-up information, and availability of tissue/blood biospecimens. Aim 3. Provide support to the Biospecimen and Pathology Core in providing biospecimen resources to the research community. Through this support we aim to provide efficient and prompt access to the biospecimen resources for HBC investigators. Biospecimen resources will also be connected to data management and centralization system described in Aim 2 to facilitate collaboration and data reuse across the HBC SPORE.