Program 
Abstract
Middleware and Grid Support for Translational Biomedical Research
 
Joel Saltz, M.D, Ph.D.
Ohio State University Medical Center
 

Effective support for multi-center translational studies relies on successfully tackling challenges posed by information heterogeneity, data coordination and data size. Biomedical grid middleware is designed to address these challenges by supporting synthesis of information from high throughput molecular datasets, clinical data and from images from multiple modalities. I will describe grid infrastructure developed by our group and others. I will then outline key architectural features of current and potential future systems including 1) the roles played systematic metadata management mechanisms, 2) mechanisms that provide an abstract view of combined information stored in filesystems and in various types of databases and 3) mechanisms that provide interfaces to high end computing environments. The talk will be motivated by requirements from cooperative clinical research groups, tumor microenvironment researchers and from the integrative cancer biology research community.
Biosketch
Joel Saltz, M.D, Ph.D.

Dr. Joel Saltz received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, his MD-PhD (computer science) from Duke, and completed his pathology residency at Johns Hopkins. He is the author/co-author of over 200 peer-reviewed conference paper and journal articles. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Saltz has led software design and development teams and has developed a wide variety of innovative high end and grid based biomedical informatics applications. In the early 1980s, during his MD-PhD training at Duke, he developed finite element methods capable of the effect of fibrous tissue on the conduction of cardiac action potentials. In 1996 Dr. Saltz implemented the first prototype Pathology Virtual Slide software system. This effort won the best paper award at the American Medical Informatics Association 1997 conference and was used at Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, University of Pennsylvania and University of Pittsburg. This software also formed the basis of the DARPA sponsored HUBS (Hospital University Business) consortium. At Ohio State since 2001, Dr. Saltz has led the development of grid based middleware to support integrated query, management and analysis of different types of biomedical molecular and imaging information. This effort was initially supported by a NIH BISTI Center grant, by the National Science Foundation National Middleware Initiative and by the State of Ohio. This effort has led to the development of a variety of landmark software systems including Mobius, DataCutter and STORM. Components of this software have been adapted for use in the current caGrid 0.5 distribution. Dr. Saltz is also an active participant in the caBIG Architecture Workspace, Strategic Planning Workspace and In Vivo Imaging Workspace.