Forum:Interesting Article: The Unstable Equilibrium Of The Bioinformatics

Question

[Istvan Albert]

Here is interesting writeup that I find eerily accurate:

In most organizations, the human resources of bioinformatics are a regular source of tension. Unless you’re particularly lucky, you can be plagued by politics, illogical decision making, disappointment, and low productivity.

and

The Bioinformatics Core: In this setup, some mix of informatics analysts and developers are put together under a common organization that then distributes their time to affiliated laboratories. But this never works the way people expect it to. Informatics does not fit the core facility mold

More here: The Unstable Equilibrium of the Bioinformatics Org Chart

Answer 1

[Jeremy Leipzig]

This editorial is spot on.

I am not sure the core model can work if the projects are open-ended, or if investigators expect you to clean up their data. I think there needs to be at least one embedded entry-level bioinformatics analyst in every lab. Even then it is difficult to maintain consistently high standards.

I'm not sure how much outsourcing is a threat - though certainly companies like DNA Nexus do offer some of the same solutions as cores.

[Istvan Albert]

outsourcing could be a threat in terms of promising undeliverables - then disappear - taking available resources with them

[Jeremy Leipzig]

As a threat I mean how many labs currently outsource analysis?

[Istvan Albert]

I see. Though as labs start outsourcing sequencing they might try to do so with analysis. On the other hand unrealistic expectations are the norm rather than exception.