About the UMBC

UM Bioinformatics Consortium
W108 Locust St. Bldg., Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: 573-884-0014

The UM Bioinformatics Consortium is a joint effort of the four campuses of the University of Missouri System Established in 2001, UMBC is supported by the University, several federal agencies, and private industry.

Mission

Nationally recognized programs and investigators in the Life Sciences exist throughout the University of Missouri (UM) System. Outstanding programs in the areas of medicine, molecular biology, genetics, structural biology, and molecular evolution are already in place, and are being strategically strengthened through the multi-year Mission Enhancement program. In recognition of existing strengths and opportunities for development of programs of excellence, the University has identified Bioinformatics and Health Informatics as a specific target for long-term enhancement.

In the fall of 2000, representatives from the four University of Missouri campuses, in coordination with representatives from the University's General Officers, proposed the development of the University of Missouri Bioinformatics Consortium (UMBC). In July, 2001, the Chancellors of the four UM campuses approved creation of the UMBC, and it was presented to the UM Board of Curators.

The UMBC is a System-wide resource for high-performance computational infrastructure, which will emphasize and facilitate inter-campus communication and bioinformatics research collaborations.

UMBC's goals are to:

  1. Provide resources for the UM System in the form of accessible and sharable computational capabilities and databases for collaborating investigators on any campus.
  2. Foster the development of advanced information technology applications in the Life Sciences in collaboration with peer Internet2 institutions.
  3. Facilitate the training of a new generation of students and scientists in the interdisciplinary area of bioinformatics and computational biology; the bridging of Life Sciences, clinical sciences and computer applications.
  4. Provide necessary resources for bioinformatics and Life Sciences research that will result in improved education and healthcare for Missourians and will enhance food and animal genome research.
  5. Enhance the connections of UM to rapidly developing trends in bioinformatics in the private sector.
  6. Educate researchers in high performance techniques and their utility; and
  7. Assist the private sector in exploiting high performance computing for their competitive advantage.

Partnerships

UMBC is a leading edge site in providing Missouri academic researchers with support for and access to leadership-class computing infrastructure and research.

The UMBC ... develops new algorithms, performs original research, and conducts training workshops, in addition to fostering collaborative projects and providing access to supercomputing resources to the biomedical research community.

UMBC also partners with the State of Missouri to offer free grants of supercomputing time to researchers in Missouri.

Calendar of Events

Workshops, seminars, and other announcements of interest to the high-performance computing community.

Contacting us

We can be reached at 572.882.7232. You can also contact a specific department, or look at the staff directory.

Location

UMBC offices are located at W108 Locust St. Bldg.., on the campus of the University of Missouri - Columbia in Columbia, Missouri.

Driving directions to UMBC and maps of the Columbia area are available.