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Poised for Growth: Washington State has the Work Force and Business Climate to Lead the Bio-IT Industry
by Charlene Slayton SEATTLE — Bio-IT or bioinformatics is often referred to as computational biology or where computer science meets traditional biology. Poised for remarkable growth, the bio-IT industry is now emerging from an era of pure hype and research to one of reality and profitable business. Bio-IT has many applications from drug research to genetics and other markets yet to emerge. “It’s an exciting time for IT professionals transitioning to the bio-IT industry,” said Rob Arnold, President and COO, Geospiza. “We are at the beginning of a technological revolution.” Arnold will moderate a panel of industry experts at the WSA September 13 bio-IT industry discussion. at the Grand Hyatt Seattle. “Washington State has a uniquely qualified workforce offering a diverse set of technical skills and the drive to enter this fast-moving discipline” said Kathy Wilcox, President and CEO of the WSA. “Bio-IT also provides an opportunity for uniquely meaningful work in an industry transforming health and reducing the role of disease.” Remarkable parallels can be made between the bio-IT industry and the early stages of the software industry in general. Similar to today’s bio-IT industry, much of the enterprise software in the 1980s was home-grown before dominant designs and mass applications evolved. Clearly the life sciences market is on the cusp of the creation of companies that are the bio-IT equivalent of Microsoft, Apple and Cisco. Up until now, life science research organizations have focused largely on creating their own software and tools to meet their ever-changing and complex needs but several core questions remain: Will these internally-developed systems really scale? Is there opportunity for commercial IT organizations to deliver products and services to this emerging market profitably? What will be the first applications of these new biotechnologies and when will it happen? What opportunities are there for Washington state to play in this important field? The WSA discussion will be moderated by Rob Arnold, President & COO, of Geospiza. Speakers slated to appear are Tim Hunkapiller, Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer, of Discovery Biosciences; Rick LeFaivre, Ph.D., Partner, OVP Venture Partners; David Lipman M.D., Director, National Center for Biotechnology Information; and Robert Robbins, Ph.D., Vice President for IT, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Attend the Micro-Briefing the evening of the dinner meeting and hear from Dr. Jared Roach about "The Role of IT in Predictive, Preventative and Personalized Medicine". [24x7]
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