caBIG™ Feature – November 2006

Analyzing Brain Cancer In a "Big" Way

REMBRANDT Integrates, Analyzes, and Connects

All this clinical and basic research information feeds into REMBRANDT. In simplest terms, REMBRANDT marries the results from patients’ electronic charts and clinical trial data with the molecular analyses from the lab.

REMBRANDT is an interconnected data repository, amassing varied data in a standardized format. REMBRANDT is also a collection of intuitive tools that physicians and researchers can use to analyze and interact with the data. The REMBRANDT platform also allows researchers to search, import, and aggregate data from external as well as internal databases.

For example, scientists can search through the genetic sequences data to find meaningful patterns akin to the average person "Googling" to find connections between seemingly unrelated words. While the word "cat" in one context can mean an animal in a pet store, in another "CAT" means a brain scan. In the case of REMBRANDT, "words" are genetic sequences and their context in the genes that tumor cells express can lead researchers to clues about disparate biochemical pathways that feed a deadly cancer.

On the information technology side, REMBRANDT provides a shared environment. It crosses disciplines in medicine and research and therefore fosters collaboration — the kind needed between neurosurgeons and clinical data managers, or between bench scientists and clinicians to more efficiently develop effective therapies for patients.

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