Cyberinfrastructure: empowering a "third way" in biomedical research

Abstract

Biomedicine has experienced explosive growth, fueled in parts by the substantial increase of government support, continued development of the biotechnology industry, and the increasing adoption of molecular-based medicine. At its core, it is composed of fiercely independent, innovative, entrepreneurial individuals, organizations, and institutions. The field has developed unprecedented capacity to characterize biologic systems at their most fundamental levels with the use of tools and technologies almost unimaginable a generation ago. Biomedicine is at the precipice of unlocking the very essence of biologic life and enabling a new generation of medicine. Development and deployment of cyberinfrastructure may prove to be on the critical path to obtaining these goals.