Erasmus MC Strengthens Translational Medicine Cooperation with Windber Research Institute; Pushing Genomics Based Medicine Ahead to Improve Patient Care for Wide Range of Diseases by Integrating Data.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands & WINDBER, Pa. -- The private, non-profit Windber Research Institute (WRI) will work closely with Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam in a strategic partnership to jointly develop a translational medicine data warehousing solution for clinical, molecular (genomic and proteomic) and imaging data. Erasmus and WRI expressed a joint vision towards developing standardized approaches to data warehousing and analytics in support of translational medicine based clinical decision-making, each relying heavily upon Oracle and InforSense technology respectively. The WRI Biomedical informatics team, headed by Dr. Hai Hu, will work closely with the Erasmus MC department of Bioinformatics headed by Prof. Dr. Peter van der Spek on storage, data analysis and interpretation of translational medicine data.

Windber Research Institute is involved in clinical studies and clinical trials through an existing relationship with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the Clinical Breast Care Program and the Integrative Cardiac and Metabolic Health Program. Currently, more than 19,000 highly annotated and qualified breast disease samples, with more than 500 data fields collected on each patient, are integrated with molecular and imaging data into an Oracle datawarehouse.

Erasmus MC extensively uses Affymetrix microarrays in virtually every disease research area throughout the institution, from pediatric to geriatric studies, to infectious disease and cancer through its strategic Translational Medicine program with Affymetrix Inc.(Nasdaq: AFFX).

With the rapid expansion of expression and genotyping data in both institutes, data warehousing solutions are required in parallel with data mining tools for translational medicine based projects.

The Erasmus MC projects are planned to consistently and systematically use large patient populations. The large number of well-annotated clinical samples, standardized protocols, and ground-breaking bioinformatics infrastructure will allow Erasmus MC researchers to produce statistically relevant, well-documented results which can quickly be translated into diagnostics for patients. Additionally, such analyses are anticipated to lead to the discovery of new drug targets.

"This strategic collaboration is designed to quickly integrate genomic research data with patient clinical data to bring solutions from the laboratory to the bedside as rapidly as possible", said Dr. Michael N. Liebman, Executive Director, Windber Research Institute. "Our joint goal is to take translational medicine from theory to practice. We are dedicated to optimize the use of existing knowledge, while employing new technologies and developing biomedical systems for the future and help reduce healthcare costs."

About Windber Research Institute, Windber Pennsylvania, USA

The Windber Research Institute is a translational medicine research center that focuses on bringing the problems in the clinic back to the research laboratory for analysis at the genomic, proteomic, image and informatic levels. It is focused in its research areas on women's health, including obstetrics and gynecologic diseases including breast, ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancers, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, and processes of normal aging including menopause. It has worked closely with its partners at GE Healthcare and InforSense to develop an integrated research environment that is being extended to support physician decision making in collaboration with the patient. Major efforts in tissue banking, patient data acquisition and genomic research (sequencing, genotyping, gene expression, whole genome analysis) and proteomics (protein separation and identification) comprise the experimental focus. The biomedical informatics efforts include data modelling and warehousing, data mining and research into the development of disease models for risk assessment, prevention and early detection, including environmental and lifestyle factors.

Windber Research Institute collaborates closely with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and with the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Cancer Institute, Georgetown University, and the University of California-San Francisco in the areas of women's health, cardiovascular disease and obesity. It is a private, non-profit research institute that is located approximately 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands Mountains, and is affiliated with the Windber Medical Center, part of the Conemaugh Healthcare System which services central Pennsylvania. Additional information can be obtained at www.wriwindber.org.

About Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam:

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University Hospital Rotterdam joined forces to form the Erasmus MC, the largest centre of it's kind in the Netherlands. Advanced medical care is provided in three clinical branches: the General Hospital, Erasmus MC - Sophia Children's Hospital, and Erasmus MC - Daniel den Hoed Oncology Center. Located in the heart of Rotterdam, Erasmus MC provides advanced medical care to 3 million people living in the south-western part of the Netherlands. The Erasmus MC has achieved excellence in many areas including cardiovascular diseases, oncology, pediatrics, clinical genetics, human reproduction, endocrinology, virology, immunology, hepatology and microsurgery. The research activities at Erasmus MC range from fundamental biomedical research, patient-related research and epidemiology to health care policy and management. Additional information on Erasmus MC can be found at www.erasmusmc.nl.