VISUALIZING BIOLOGICAL DATA VIZBI

The company Illumina recently announced their ‘iDEA challenge’ to recognize new, creative ideas on how to visualize and analyze genomics data. Entries are due March 15, 2011 and the winners will be announced June 15, 2011. The  winning academic entry will be awarded US$50,000, while the winning  commercial entry will be awarded a co-marketing agreement with Illumina. Seperate prizes will also be awarded for the most creative visualization, and most creative algorithm. If you are working on visualizing genome data, it sounds like a great opportunity to achieve recognition.

Drew Berry, a VIZBI 2011 keynote speaker, has been awarded a MacArthur Fellow. He  is a animator who uses scientifically accurate and aesthetically rich visualizations to elucidate cellular and molecular processes for a wide range of audiences. A video about the award is available here that includes an interview with Dr Berry, and features some of his work.