NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – SunQuest Information Systems said today that Nationwide Children's Hospital Institute for Genomic Medicine Clinical Laboratory, MedComp Sciences, and the University of Minnesota Health Fairview have joined VariantWire, Sunquest's genomic data sharing program.
The VariantWire networking infrastructure and crowdsourcing platform is supported by GeneInsight, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunquest. It provides a forum for clinical laboratories across the US and Canada to share de-identified, clinically validated genomic data with each other with minimal disruptions to laboratory workflows.
According to Sunquest, VariantWire has been used to share over 44,300 variant interpretations across 1,865 genes that are associated with more than 300 diseases. This includes details on specific variant classifications, frequency and transcript information, gene-disease associations, inheritance patterns, and more.
"We are excited to have Nationwide Children's Hospital, MedComp Sciences and the University of Minnesota Health Fairview join VariantWire," Samantha Baxter, the director of VariantWire and a clinical project manager and genetic counselor at the Broad Institute, said in a statement. "These institutions are joining a network of individuals and labs that are committed to data transparency and understand that the sharing of genetic knowledge leads to better patient care."
Other members in the network include the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Partners Healthcare, and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.