Tucson Standard

CyVerse, an open science platform led by the University of Arizona, will play a crucial role in a new center focused on molecular and cellular biosciences. This initiative has received a $20 million award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The funding will establish the National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences (NCEMS), which aims to explore complex biological systems using publicly available data.

The University of Arizona, as the lead institution for CyVerse, will receive $1.9 million from this grant. CyVerse is recognized as the world's largest publicly funded open-source cyberinfrastructure for life sciences. It supports researchers' data and computing needs while connecting collaborators through an NSF-supported framework. Tyson Swetnam, associate research professor and CyVerse co-lead, highlighted its significance: "CyVerse is the plumbing for these projects that involve enormous datasets."

NCEMS, led by Penn State University, will initially focus on emergent properties at the mesoscale level. This scale ranges from molecules like enzymes and DNA to organelles such as mitochondria. Ed O'Brien, NCEMS director and Penn State professor of chemistry, emphasized the potential impact: "We have a unique opportunity to harness big data...by bringing together diverse datasets and multidisciplinary teams of scientists from across the world."

The center aims to broaden participation in STEM fields by democratizing access to research opportunities. Initial partners include minority-serving institutions such as Claflin University, Alcorn State University, and Fayetteville State University.

Simon Malcomber, NSF deputy assistant director for biological sciences, expressed optimism about this collaborative effort: "This is the first time we will bring this approach to the molecular and cellular sciences." Additionally, Nirav Merchant, CyVerse lead investigator and director of the UArizona Data Science Institute noted that "the NCEMS collaboration will provide CyVerse with the opportunity to broaden its cyberinfrastructure capabilities."

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins praised CyVerse's contributions: "CyVerse has built on this record of excellence...I am so pleased to see it as part of this important national collaboration."

Since its inception in 2008 with $117 million in NSF funding, CyVerse has become a significant investment into life sciences cyberinfrastructure. Led by UArizona alongside partners like Texas Advanced Computing Center and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, it supports over 137,000 researchers globally.