IT's in the genes

Whether it is about the governments in Africa or the problems of Greece, about the speed of Chinese investments in distressed assets or the versatility of Indian talent in the US, Jay Amaran, Sr Vice-President, Global Determinants, Inc, US ( >http://bit.ly/F4TJayA ), has tonnes of insights to share. But what I found the most exciting, during my long lunch-hour interaction with Jay in Business Line , was the serious analytics work he is busy with, in the area of genomics.

Analytics will provide tremendous insights into our health, observes Jay. “So long as it is used for good causes it is fine. There are a few unscrupulous elements who offer genetic methods to grow taller and have higher-capacity brains — these are dangerous measures with tremendous long-term side-effects. We need to have regulation in place so that no one takes advantage of society in general.” Our conversation continues over email.

Excerpts from the interview.

Give us an overview of the role played by technology in genomics.

The field of genomics is fairly new. It is only in 2004 that the first human genome was sequenced at a stupendous cost of $3 billion. Today, that cost is under $10,000 per human. And soon, it is predicted that it will come under $1,000. When it comes to basic sequencing, the US is the “thought leader” while China is the “action leader”.

This mammoth sequencing effort throws up massive overwhelming data. It is the analytics of this data that holds the key. For every human sequenced, there is a need for at least $2,000 of services. With more research findings, this number will only increase! It is here that India needs to grow and make an impact. In fact, if we want and try, we can gain global prominence and leadership here.

There are three specific insights that the data can provide: ancestry, personality and health – the pursuit of the last insight is perceived to be the most valuable.

To figure this out and play on this field, the three disciplines of life sciences, math and information technologies need to come together. India has already demonstrated its global leadership in the field of information technology. We need to leverage that as optimally as possible. The areas of expertise needed include high-speed computing, storage, cloud-computing, software development, security, version management and analytical services.

Why is analytics relevant to genomics?

Analytics refers to a suite of services provided by someone who is duly qualified, and has been appropriately certified. A number of software products have been developed and over time they have created large user groups. One approach is to buy these tools (one can get free versions of most tools on a trial basis for a limited period), gain mastery over their usage and then help customers to get the most out of these tools.

Any gene sequence, related to a human being, has several hidden patterns that provide insights into disease proclivities. Such patterns are embedded in vast databases that are stored over multiple physical locations. Analysts look for such patterns. Knowledge of statistical tools like multivariate analysis, correlation and regression and pattern-matching are useful.

Every week, we hear of scientific breakthroughs on the analytical research front — it could be the linking of a pattern to a disease or the occurrence of certain strings of information implying a genetic defect. As of now, the field has developed to about 5 per cent of its potential. And already, it is making its impact felt. Over the next 3 to 5 years, the field of analytics will become one of the hottest careers in demand. Clearly, analytics will be the driver.

Can you walk us through an example of applying analytics to genomics?

By studying your gene sequence, one can identify certain patterns — and these patterns are limited to just four characters, namely, a combination of A, G, C and T — these represent the four bases adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine respectively. For example, one particular sequence of these characters could imply that the person has a proclivity for ‘colorectal cancer,' for instance. If you knew that you were a likely candidate for this disease early enough, you could avoid that by a simple change in diet! Here is another example: Genetics-based ‘breast-cancer diagnostics' is poised to become a mainstream activity in the US. Overall, geno-analytics helps us make a giant step towards personalised medicine.

On a much smaller personal scale, you can draw out your family tree, list out the diseases of ancestors and derive great insights into the health of all the members in the family. My favourite question to anyone is to make them guess how many fifth cousins a person has. The usual response from an Indian would be some number between 30 and 70. After a minute of discussion, they soon realise that it is more like 4,000 to 12,000!

What are the computing challenges in this field?

A typical analyst would be working with a few terabytes of data. The data is so large that it has to necessarily “be in the cloud”. Simple housekeeping operations like copy and move can take several hours. Converting a sequence into a table and then converting that table into a graph can sometimes take a few days! The sheer size makes it very challenging. Formats of sequence data also vary widely, depending on the source of the data — the popular sequencing machines are from Roche, Illumina, Ion Torrent (now Life Technologies), and Pacific Biosciences. Then there is the challenge of security. You would not want your genetic data to be accessed by anyone other than someone you have authorised.

Do you see potential for the Indian IT industry in the analytics space?

It is no longer a question of whether, but when! The Indian IT industry is capable of being a leader in the field of genetics – it has a great track record worldwide, starting with their successful implementation of Y2K solutions. Most Indians are good in the understanding of math and information technology. With bio-informatics in the curriculum, they are now fully equipped to take on this challenging task of geno-analytics. Indian IT industry has access to a large talent pool that is willing to learn and work on a multi-shift operation at costs lower than anywhere else on planet earth.

Regarding the timing of entry, you could be a pioneer or an early mover. India cannot afford to be a pioneer. But it is definitely a smart move to be an early mover. And that time is now ! On a practical note, one can get a jumpstart with a clearly defined ‘merger & acquisition' plan.

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