"Big Data" and Approaches for Using it in Genomics Research - CRADLE Seminar

You're invited to attend the final SILS CRADLE seminar of this semester. 

Title: "Big Data" and Approaches for Using it in Genomics Research

Speaker:  Michael Shoffner, RENCI Data Sciences Group, Adjunct Instructor, SILS

Abstract:
"Big Data" is currently a hot topic in all sectors, from industry to the academy, with everyone from President Obama to corporate analysts discussing the game changing opportunities that can arise from harnessing it. Genomics research is representative of the challenges attendant upon making big data tractable for use in the research enterprise. This talk gives an overview of the landscape of big data and Genomics, with a focus on the tools and approaches RENCI and partners are taking with regard to enabling scientific research in Genomics.

Bio:
Michael Shoffner is a member of the Data Sciences Group at RENCI, a UNC-based research institute that develops and deploys advanced technologies to enable research discoveries. His primary role is to lead medical informatics projects and assist collaborators with data-intensive research challenges using his background in software engineering. He also co-chairs the RENCI Data Working Group, which is an institute-wide group that advises on data strategy and investigates and develops data architectures for large scale research-based scientific data challenges. He is also a member of the SILS Metadata Research Center team, where he is involved with metadata related research projects. Previously he has been a technical architect, a member of an emerging technologies strategy group, and co-founder of an early area Internet technology consultancy with clients in the biomedical and education spaces. He co-authored one of the first trade books on the Java programming language and spearheaded the world's first  online radio station simulcast. Email: michael_shoffner@unc.edu.