Tapping the Dataseam
Partnership powers computers against cancer
By Kevin Rayburn
School computers are a vital part of teaching and learning in today's educational system, but when Kentucky students aren't in class learning programming, calculating a math problem or writing an essay, their computers sit idle.
From the time they euphorically head home after a long school day until those sleepy moments when they return in the morning, their school's appreciable computing power is an unused resource. According to one estimate, school computers in the state are dormant up to 80 percent of the time--but that is changing.
The Kentucky Dataseam Initiative--an innovative partnership between the private Louisville medical technology company Dataseam, the University of Louisville and several Kentucky school systems--is tapping into that resource to help U of L scientists search for new cancer therapies. Instead of powering down, many school computers are working at their full potential all day and night--making millions of calculations needed by researchers.
This "grid computing" network allows researchers at U of L's James Graham Brown Cancer Center, such as John Trent, to tap into thousands of school machines statewide. The supercomputing array speeds up complex calculations for cancer studies.
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To test and develop potential cancer drugs, researchers must screen vast libraries of molecular compound data, some of which contain millions of compounds that would take thousands of days to screen. What they're looking for are combinations of compounds that could be made into drugs that specifically target proteins related to tumor growth.
"Now we can spread out task among many computers simultaneously to make the computations much faster," Trent says.
How much faster? In some cases, from years down to days. One library has six million compounds. "That would take 2,000 days," Trent says. "Grid computing is not a new technology. It's what researchers have used to get a little more out of what they already have."
Commercial grids are available but costly, Trent adds. "Dataseam was appealing because it's using an untapped resource. Plus, Macintoshes that are so popular in schools are based on the Unix or Linux computing platform, which is similar to the supercomputers in my lab, as well as many others. So it makes the system easier to use for us."
Dataseam, which is located in U of L co-owned MedCenter Three building downtown, developed the nonprofit effort. The company worked with university researchers, local schools, research companies and state officials for two years to develop the program.
CEO Brian Gupton, a 1998 U of L history graduate, says the state's citizens get more bang for their buck from the project. When the initiative went live two years ago, it was Gupton's hometown school system of Caldwell County that first linked with U of L researchers. He says those first 100 computers made an impact.
"Those computers alone doubled our resources," he says.
Pat Fralick, director of technology for Caldwell County Schools, says the benefit to the school system has been huge. With training and support from Dataseam, the school now has a network of computers that are more efficient, secure and responsive to the classroom environment.
"The association with Dataseam and the Brown Cancer Center has already afforded our small rural school district the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology to not only enhance the educational experiences of our students but also to contribute to the discovery of new drugs to treat cancer," she says.
Since starting up in Caldwell County, the grid has expanded to hundreds of computers in the school districts of Jefferson, Jessamine, Warren, Daviess, Muhlenburg, Trigg and Elliott counties. Dataseam eventually hopes to expand to more than 50 school systems statewide.
In return for their computer power, U of L researchers visit the schools to talk with students about their work and about opportunities in science and math. U of L also will offer scholarships to eligible students who plan to attend the university. Currently the program involves more than 130,000 students.
"Through the Dataseam Initiative, we've had the opportunity to interact with some of Kentucky's brightest students, many of whom have had little exposure to the university," says U of L President James Ramsey. "The school benefit through better technology, and the students gain access to internationally recognized scientists. Ultimately, the entire Commonwealth will benefit as our researchers close in on better treatments for cancer. This is truly a winner for all of us."
In the meantime, Dataseam plans to keep spreading the network across Kentucky as more scientists use the resource. Nearly 10 other researchers at U of L are looking into Dataseam for their projects, according to Trent. The hope is that they'll have similar success.
After using the Dataseam grid, Trent and his team quickly found cancer-selective compounds that bind to particular proteins. The next step will be to examine the most promising compounds and conduct biological testing at the cancer center.
"This will definitely help us develop life-saving drugs and treatments faster," Trent adds.
