Genetics Database for Autism Free on WuXi NextCODE Exchange

By Bio-IT World Staff

March 10, 2016 | This morning, the Simons Foundation, a grant-giving institution that supports collaborative efforts in scientific and mathematical research, announced that the Simons Simplex Collection is now open for access by researchers worldwide, through the online WuXi NextCODE Exchange. The Simons Simplex Collection is the world’s largest single resource for studying the genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); it features information on over 2,600 children with ASD and their families, including whole exome sequence and medical histories.

The WuXi NextCODE Exchange is a project of WuXi NextCODE, previously NextCODE Health, a provider of platforms for the clinical interpretation of genomic data. (See, “NextCODE Health Launches deCODE’s Clinical Genomics Platform.”) In the Exchange, the same tools used to browse DNA sequencing data in WuXi NextCODE’s private offerings are made available in collaborative online portals. For large, distributed research projects, the Exchange can act as a meeting ground for analyzing and commenting on a shared dataset.

The Simons Simplex Collection has been hosted in the WuXi NextCODE Exchange since the Exchange was first launched in October 2014. (See, “Instant Genome Browsing Over the Web with the NextCODE Exchange.”) However, it was previously open only to a dedicated set of scientists connected with the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI). SFARI affiliates in nine countries have made use of the data stored in the portal.

Now, scientists not connected to SFARI can apply for access to the full Simons Simplex Collection by contacting the Simons Foundation or applying online. Those whose research plans are approved will receive training on using the NextCODE Exchange, which uses a proprietary storage model for genomic data, designed for rapid searches within genomes.

“We are excited to be partnering with WuXi NextCODE to realize the next phase in the SSC’s potential by making it directly accessible to the autism community worldwide,” said Louis Reichardt, Director of SFARI, in a press release. “Usable online, it can serve as the hub of a network of major autism datasets and virtual cohorts of ever greater power, and we invite everyone in the field to take advantage of it.”