Radiology

Center for Bioinformatics

Please visit us at http://www.hcnr.med.harvard.edu and http://neuroinformatics.harvard.edu

Principal Investigator:
Stephen TC Wong, PhD, PE
Director, Center for Bioinformatics
Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair
Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School
stephen_wong@hms.harvard.edu

Our laboratory focuses on new mathematical models and bioinformatics technology that enable better understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of diseases and provide effective integration of genomic and image information for clinical decision support and care delivery, with particular emphasis on the diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, prevention, repair, and drug development in neurodegeneration and related disorders. The current research themes of our lab include:

1. Biomedical Image Informatics: image informatics is the processing, management, and communication of image data and related information in biomedicine. Major areas include image databases and PACS (picture archiving and communication systems), computer-aided detection (CAD), multimodality image analysis, image visualization, image genetics, and the emerging area of high content analysis at the cellular and molecular levels. For the latter, existing bioimaging analysis and data manipulation tools provide limited support –particularly time-lapse and high throughput screens– scientists currently rely on slow, manual analysis to extract information. We aim to correct this by designing and developing automated tools and software packages suited for high content cellular/molecular analysis.

2. Imaging Biomarker: development of new effective technology and bioinformatics systems that enable the determination of non-invasive, image-based biomarkers for diagnosis, monitoring, disease management, and drug trials in neurological diseases and related disorders. The development of image-based biomarkers draws on the extensive medical imaging experience and pre-clinical and clinical expertise of the broad HCNR community.

3. Integrative Bioinformatics Infrastructure: the construction of scalable informatics infrastructure that can be continually modified to reflect our evolving understanding of the biomolecular mechanisms which link genotype to microscopic and systems biologic phenotype, disease diagnosis, disease progression and therapy.

Our design employs modular software tools and hardware modules, scalable content-independent techniques and flexible architecture so that the system or individual components can be translated into other areas of biomedical research as they become relevant. We emphasize a multi-disciplinary approach to the task of problem solving. We welcome opportunities to connect other research centers and partner with technology developers.

Our lab is an integral part of the Harvard Center of Neurodegeneration and Repair. Please refer tohttp://www.hcnr.med.harvard.edu for a description of project activities and available resources.

For more information on our staff and publications please visit http://neuroinformatics.harvard.edu