Bioinformatics pioneer opens symposium organized by VCU

By Lorraine Cichowski
VCU News Services

Barry Robson, Ph.D., DSc, an IBM Distinguished Engineer and strategic advisor to IBM’s Computational Biology Center, told the opening session of the Bioinformatics & Pharmacogenomics Symposium 2002 Wednesday (June 12) that a computerized network that allows consumers to access their medical records from home and discuss personalized treatments remotely with their doctors is within sight.

"The proof of concept is there now," Robson told a group of about 100 university and industry scientists as well as students and other industry representatives who gathered at the Omni Richmond Hotel for a three-day session. The session was organized by VCU to discuss the latest developments in genomics and related scientific fields.

Robson is the founder of IBM’s Secure Health and Medical Access Network (SHAMAN), an ambitious global healthcare system that includes digital patient records and emphasizes genomics and personalized medicine. Robson declined to predict when the SHAMAN would be in operation commercially.

The symposium is the third in the past year sponsored by the Virginia Bioinformatics Consortium, a group of four Virginia universities – including VCU – that seeks to showcase regional bioinformatics research and encourage collaboration among university researchers in Virginia. The other three members are the University of Virginia, George Mason University and Virginia Tech.

As part of the event, VCU on Thursday (June 13) will launch its Bioinformatics Computational Core Laboratory at the Trani Center for Life Sciences.