Informatics

The Basic Research Informatics department at the Centre for Therapeutic Research is closely integrated into the drug discovery effort. Data management is now central to drug discovery. Cutting-edge technologies that streamline and optimize research, such as genomics, mRNA Informatics photo1 expression analysis, relational databases, high-throughput robotics, combinatorial chemistry and bioinformatics, generate vast quantities of information. The Informatics department at Merck Frosst keeps the data flowing, and helps researchers find the flecks of gold among the gravel.

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As well as providing tools and service to the researchers, the Informatics team increasingly participates in the discovery and development of specific products, working pro-actively to contribute to research in the Centre.

This means that staff work at many different levels, from technical operation to development of new applications. Partnerships with external academic centres ensure that the team has access to the very best thinking in pharmaceutical informatics. A crucial role is the support of high-performance computing operations within the centre.

The department is also responsible for disaster recovery, keeping pace with each day's new data to create back-ups, archives and restores that ensure the Research Centre's most valuable asset is well protected.