July 30, 2025
Genomics research is advancing science, helping doctors match patients with appropriate treatments, tracking the spread of disease and uncovering the secrets of biodiversity. But all this progress depends on a critical factor: large volumes of data.
“The power of sequencing data lies in the amount of information it contains. Individual files can hold the clues to what’s causing a disease, for example,” said Dr. Steven Jones from Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC). “And genome data exist as large raw files, in quantities that are growing exponentially.”
Data storage and access come with rising financial and environmental costs. Human health data require additional needs, including higher privacy standards, long-term security and in some clinical settings, rapid access to support urgent decision-making.
All this leads to increased pressure on existing systems that researchers depend on. To address this challenge, the GSC has partnered with Swiss Vault through Genome BC’s GeneSolve program to explore better solutions.
The project involves testing new software and hardware designed to make large-scale data management more efficient, easy and sustainable. At the core of this effort is the Vault File System, a file management system designed to built to improve performance, reduce energy consumption and minimize electronic waste. Alongside this, server hardware is being evaluated for speed, energy efficiency and capacity to scale with future data growth.
The goal is to develop storage infrastructure that is cost-effective, sustainable, secure and ready for anticipated growth. For researchers working at the frontiers of genomics, better data infrastructure makes a huge difference, allowing more time for discovery and faster paths from data to real-world impact.
