• 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 largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on FacebookTwitter and YouTube.