This week the 13th International Conference on Cloud Computing, Data Science & Engineering (Confluence2023) is being held at Amity University (Noida, New Delhi), an event that gathers researchers and specialists every year to discuss the latest developments in Data Science, engineering and Cloud Computing.

Juan Manuel Corchado, director of the BISITE Research Group and president of the AIR Institute, participated with a presentation entitled “Data Analytics in the Biotech sector: From Next Generation Sequencing to Reverse Vaccinology”. During his presentation he shared an interesting analysis of next generation sequencing (NGS), with the audience, and discussed the importance of platforms such as DeepNGS in NGS analysis development and practical application.

Next-generation sequencing techniques have revolutionized current genomic research. The use of the latest technologies in NGS, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, or machine learning, allow complete human genomes to be sequenced in as little as one day. Previous conventional Sanger technologies used to take more than a decade to complete this process.

However, NGS has yet to become an everyday clinical practice. End-user applications must meet the real needs of every physician, every lab technician, every DNA analysis laboratory and every researcher.

Furthermore, during his presentation he provided insight into how such techniques can be used to create vaccines computationally, known as reverse vaccinology.

Technological solutions for data analysis in the biotech industry

DeepNGS is a fast and automated platform for physicians and researchers. It is a project developed by researchers from AIR Institute, the BISITE Group and the Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL). This tool processes sequenced human DNA samples and obtains a set of key genetic variants for the clinical diagnosis of any patient.

The platform incorporates all of the patient’s genetic data in a highly secure cloud environment and achieves a higher level of accuracy. It is able to process the information to ensure the accuracy of the final diagnosis and the appropriateness of treatment recommendations. We are progressively incorporating machine learning algorithms to optimize the analysis process and achieve even better and more reliable results.

The result is a set of detected variants, either Single Nucleotide Variations (SNVs) or INDELs and structural variants. Once the alignment, variant detection and annotation steps have been completed, the intuitive DeepNGS interface provides an overview and plenty of visualizations from which conclusions can be drawn immediately.

Posted by Juan M. Corchado

Juan Manuel Corchado (15 May 1971, Salamanca, Spain) is Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has been Vice-Rector for Research from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Science Park of the University of Salamanca. Elected as Dean of the Faculty of Science twice, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the West of Scotland. He leads the renowned BISITE (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) Research Group, created in 2000. Director of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and President of the AIR Institute, J. M. Corchado is also Visiting Professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology since January 2015, Visiting Professor at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda of the European Counter Terrorism Centre (EUROPOL). J. M. Corchado has been president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, and academic coordinator of the University Institute for Research in Art and Animation Technology at the University of Salamanca, as well as researcher at the Universities of Paisley (UK), Vigo (Spain) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK). He currently combines all his activity with the direction of Master programmes in Security, Digital Animation, Mobile Telephony, Information Systems Management, Internet of Things, Social Media, 3D Design and Printing, Blockchain, Z System, Industry 4.0, Agile Project Management, and Smart Cities & Intelligent Buildings, at the University of Salamanca and his work as editor-in-chief of the journals ADCAIJ (Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal), OJCST (Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology) or Electronics MDPI (Computer Science & Engineering section). J. M. Corchado mainly works on projects related to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Fog Computing, Edge Computing, Smart Cities, Smart Grids and Sentiment Analysis. He has recently been included in the board of trustees of the AstraZeneca Foundation, along with other health professionals and researchers recognised for bringing scientific knowledge closer to society.

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