NCBO Webinar: On the road to production: Semantic integration cases indicate successful adoption to improve knowledge-based decisions in Pharma and healthcare - Apr. 17 at 10am PDT

The next NCBO Webinar will be presented tomorrow by Erich Gombocz from IO
Informatics, "On the road to production: Semantic integration cases
indicate successful adoption to improve knowledge-based decisions in Pharma
and healthcare" at 10:00am PDT, Wednesday, Apr. 17. Below is information on
how to join the online meeting via WebEx and accompanying teleconference.
For the full schedule of the NCBO Webinar presentations see:
http://www.bioontology.org/webinar-series.

ABSTRACT:
Application of semantic technologies in life sciences and healthcare has
been mostly confined to Proof-of-Concept or Pilot studies and has been
looked at with skepticism for production-readiness for quite awhile.
Overhyped expectations about Linked Open Data and unreliable SPARQL
endpoints have been detrimental to practical adoption. Recently, improved
data resource quality, attention to provenance, public ontology
availability and maturing software have all contributed to successful
projects and changing perceptions. Semantic technology is successfully
transitioning into production environments providing decision support
systems with large economic benefits and societal implications.

Several examples from Pharma (excipient influence on drug stability and
efficacy, drug safety and adverse effect assessment, pre-clinical toxicity
risk evaluation), government (FDA species-independent biomarker initiative
to reduce animal studies; microbial pathogen characterization and
classification) and biomarker-based applications in research hospitals
(pre-symptomatic organ transplant rejection, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease decision support, comparative effectiveness of combination
treatments for prostate cancer, plaque rupture indication in
arteriosclerosis) will be explored. These business cases will map where we
are today, what has been achieved, how it was done and what still needs to
be accomplished on the road ahead to keep the momentum in adoption making
semantic integration the model of choice for life sciences.


SPEAKER BIO:
Dr. Erich Gombocz has 35+ years experience in Life Science research,
laboratory automation and data management in distributed environments, and
35+ years programming experience in instrument control, user interface,
database design, scientific analysis, on-line laboratory automation, and
innovative software architecture. Over a decade at the Federal Institute of
Food Analysis & Research, Vienna, Austria, leading the early development of
computational analysis and automation procedures in a complex distributed
environment, Erich’s contribution was pivotal during the Chernobyl crisis
in 1986, where Austria's early warning system delivered real-time
information critical to international decision-making. His post-doctoral
research at the NIH (1985, 1988), on techniques and computer models for
separations led him to build an automated real-time instrument and to found
venture-backed Lab Intelligence, Inc. in 1989. From 2000-2003, as Chief
Science Officer of Biosentients, he contributed substantially to design and
implementation of the company's informatics technology, including its
systems architecture and analytical modules. Focusing on semantic data
integration and knowledge management in life sciences, he cofounded IO
Informatics in 2003 with Bob Stanley to apply systems biology approaches to
contextualize knowledge for pharmaceutical and clinical decision-making.

Dr. Gombocz has published over 60 scientific publications and holds
currently more than 40 biotechnology- and software-related US and
international patents. He is an international expert in separation science
and bioinformatics, a member of several professional organizations, and
serves on the editorial board of a number of scientific journals. His
participation in the W3C HCLS, the Pistoia Alliance Standards Initiative
and as Chair of Working Group for Best Practices in Data Sharing is
testimonial for his role at the forefront of technology.


WEBEX DETAILS:
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Meeting information
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Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Time: 10:00 am, Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)
Meeting Number: 925 756 393
Meeting Password: ncbo

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To start or join the online meeting
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Go to
https://stanford.webex.com/stanford/j.php?ED=171726072&UID=481527042&PW=NMzhlMDBjNzk0&RT=MiM0

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Audio conference information
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To receive a call back, provide your phone number when you join the
meeting, or call the number below and enter the access code.
Call-in toll number (US/Canada): 1-650-429-3300
Global call-in numbers:
https://stanford.webex.com/stanford/globalcallin.php?serviceType=MC&ED=171726072&tollFree=0

Access code:925 756 393



Trish Whetzel, PhD
Outreach Coordinator
The National Center for Biomedical Ontology
Ph: 650-721-2378
http://www.bioontology.org

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