• Press Release

Washington Post - "A Cure for Cancer? This Big Data Startup Says It Can Deliver"

  • (January 17, 2013)

'Big data' is one of the most over-used buzzwords in the startup vernacular, and founders rarely have the goods to back it up. But Ayasdi, a startup, doesn't just talk the talk. Stanford researchers have been baking the complex algorithms behind Ayasdi for over a decade, with the goal of unlocking the hidden value in human genetic data. Dr. Eric Schadt, Director of the Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has a team of researchers using the technology to identify the genetic predispositions of many diseases, including cancer, which they hope will help them "glean new insights that will lead to breakthrough drug therapies." Mount Sinai is using Ayasdi to analyze the entire E. Coli genome sequence, which includes more than one million DNA variants. This will further our understanding of why some types of E. Coli develop resistance to antibiotics and how we can combat the spread of the bacteria. Learn more


About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.

As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.

Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.