Federated queries for comparative effectiveness research: performance analysis.

This paper presents a study of the performance of federated queries implemented in a system that simulates the architecture proposed for the Scalable Architecture for Federated Translational Inquiries Network (SAFTINet). Performance tests were conducted using both physical hardware and virtual machines within the test laboratory of the Center for High Performance Computing at the University of Utah. Tests were performed on SAFTINet networks ranging from 4 to 32 nodes with databases containing synthetic data for several million patients.

SaTScan on a Cloud: On-Demand Large Scale Spatial Analysis of Epidemics.

By using cloud computing it is possible to provide on- demand resources for epidemic analysis using computer intensive applications like SaTScan. Using 15 virtual machines (VM) on the Nimbus cloud we were able to reduce the total execution time for the same ensemble run from 8896 seconds in a single machine to 842 seconds in the cloud. Using the caBIG tools and our iterative software development methodology the time required to complete the implementation of the SaTScan cloud system took approximately 200 man-hours, which represents an effort that can be secured within the resources available at State Health Departments.

A case for using grid architecture for state public health informatics: the Utah perspective.

This paper presents the rationale for designing and implementing the next-generation of public health information systems using grid computing concepts and tools. Our attempt is to evaluate all grid types including data grids for sharing information and computational grids for accessing computational resources on demand. Public health is a broad domain that requires coordinated uses of disparate and heterogeneous information systems.

Enabling GeneHunter as a grid service: a case study for implementing analytical services for biomedical grids.

Advances in grid computing show promise for easier provisioning of analytical services to biomedical researchers. In this poster we present our experiences in creating a grid analytical service based on the popular genetic linkage analysis tool GeneHunter. We have implemented and deployed this grid service using tools available from the caGrid project.