Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer - 2003

Department of Energy
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In the field of comparative genomics, scientists can compare the human genome with those of other organisms to identify common regions of DNA; gain insights into how genes are switched on and off; and further their understanding of the human genome's evolution, structure and function. In some ways, sequencing the human genome was the easy part; the more difficult task of understanding and analyzing the functions of nucleotide pairs in human cells still lies ahead. Recognizing this need, a team from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed a user-friendly computer program called Visualization Tool for Alignments (VISTA), which allows researchers to quickly compare the genomes of various organisms.

This technology was conceived, developed, and transferred by a team of biologists, mathematicians, and computer scientists at LBNL and the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). The VISTA team implemented a seamless technology transfer process to maximize the program's accessibility. By making the program publicly available online via a dedicated server (http://www-gsd.lbl.gov/vista), the team made it possible for researchers to register and submit genome sequences for comparison electronically. Licenses for VISTA are available free of charge to academic and nonprofit organizations. Commercial institutions may purchase site licenses on the Web. Currently, VISTA is accessed on the web an average of almost 1,700 times per month.

Since its public introduction, VISTA has become one of the most popular and widely praised comparative genomics tools available to biologists, geneticists, and biomedical researchers. This technology is contributing to important research on coronary heart disease, leukemia, cardiac and skeletal muscle development, and genetic disorders. The information it yields is accelerating the understanding of human diseases and disorders, which promises a bountiful harvest of contributions to human health and well-being.

Contact: Inna Dubchak, (510) 495-2419, ILDubchak@lbl.gov