Research & Technology

Proof of Concept
Swiss Bio Grid partners agreed to develop a Proof of Concept for the computational grid aspects of our grid. The purpose of conducting a proof of concept is to assess the feasibility of the functional requirements and the ability of current resources to meet these requirements. The following goals frame the SBG proof of concept:

• Contribution and sharing of resources
• Collaboration between the SBG partners
• Encourage broad participation by partners in the proof of concept
• Develop concepts that ensure a trustworthy environment for participation
• Explore requirements, both in workflow as in resource availability and management

The Proof of Concept has 3 objectives:

Infrastructure:
To establish the test bed that will evolve towards a dynamic IT infrastructure allowing to use resources across institutions and disciplines, delivering services for compute intensive applications and data sharing. During the past months, SBG partners have been developing and analyzing solutions based on public and open standards to identify the requirements for a heterogeneous computational grid. Deliverable: Functional infrastructure for a computational GRID between the partner sites of the PoC.

Science:
To achieve a set of innovative and valuable results that exceed what the individual institutions could have produced alone. During the past months, SBG partners have assembled the necessary tools and data necessary for the project "Grid-based Virtual Screening of Dengue Virus Target Proteins". Deliverable: Evaluated list of compounds likely to bind to dengue virus proteins identified by in silico docking.

Feasibility:
To demonstrate that it is possible to address complex and demanding scientific questions by sharing existing infrastructure in Switzerland without impacting the normal use of these resources. Deliverable: Evaluate the feasibility of a Swiss Bio Grid, and elaborate the necessary technical, collaborative and contractual foundations for sharing resources.