MetaMiner (CF): a disease-oriented bioinformatics analysis environment.

MetaMiner (CF) is a data analysis platform for a broad range of CF researchers including wet lab biologists, bioinformaticians, clinicians, and chemists. To understand disease mechanisms and gain insight into complex biological actions, analysis of even simple gene interactions often requires integration of a variety of separate data resources such as literature, 3D molecular models, metabolic pathways, ontologies, small molecules, and drugs. Large-scale data sets from high-throughput screening assays, microarrays, and other data intensive procedures present an even greater challenge in data handling and analysis which now requires interdisciplinary teams of scientists with strikingly diverse backgrounds including computer scientists, statisticians, biologists, and clinicians. To address the issues raised by the complexity of analysis and resource limitations of many research laboratories, MetaMiner (CF) was developed by GeneGo under direction and funding of Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics. The platform was designed to provide the CF community with a single tool for analyzing experimental data in a disease-centered environment. To that end, the most important biological and chemical experimental data available today in cystic fibrosis research have been assembled and integrated with data analysis and visualization tools to highlight the key pathways leading to and perturbed by the disease. GeneGo developers assembled and edited CF-specific content and designed the disease-specific interface under the guidance and review of a team of leading cystic fibrosis experts. Updates and revisions will be processed quarterly under the direction of the CF Foundation Therapeutics.