| Type | Not-for-profit organisation |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Website | www.nbic.nl |
TheNetherlands Bioinformatics Centre orNBIC[1] (2003–2013) was a Dutch, government-funded organization, that coordinated all academic work onbioinformatics in theNetherlands.[2] NBIC consisted of programs for research (BioRange), for education (BioWise), and for support (BioAssist). NBIC partners are allDutch universities and university hospitals, and some commercial entities. The NBIC central office was hosted by theCenter for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics (CMBI) at theRadboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre.
In 2003 NBIC was launched[3] as anot-for-profit organization, to strengthen and organize the bioinformatics research in theNetherlands. NBIC is one of the four enabling technology centres that were initiated by theNetherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI)[4] to improve thegenomics-based research in the Netherlands. The other three technology centres are:theNetherlands Proteomics Centre (NPC),[5] theNetherlands Metabolomics Centre (NMC)[6] and theNetherlands Consortium for Systems Biology (NCSB).[7] Most services moved to the Dutch Techcentre for Life Sciences in 2015.[8]
The Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre was funded by theDutch government through theNetherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI)[9] and the BSIK[10](knowledge infrastructures) programme.[citation needed]
The support department of NBIC, BioAssist, consists of task forces that bring together experts in the different fields of Bioinformatics. Together, these people identify common problems in their field that they set out to solve in a collaborative way. BioAssist also has a group, BioInformatics Research Support (BRS),[11][12] that helps biological and medical professionals with short bioinformatics projects.
The education part of NBIC, BioWise, organizes courses and trainings at different levels. They provide awareness training at schools,[13] collaborate with the different bioinformatics education programs at the universities in the Netherlands, and organize trainings forPhD students. Also, subject-specific trainings and conferences are organized, either nationally or with other international partners like theSwiss Institute of Bioinformatics.
NBIC partnered with Dutch universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in the LOBIN network. in July 2011, four UASes had joined.[14]
A wide variety ofbioinformatics software has been created by people involved in NBIC.[15] NBIC also hosted a service to coordinatesoftware development (Trac server with software releases and project documentation).[16] Many tools are also made available through NBIC's own openGalaxy server.[17]
First steps have been made to include commercial entities, among others, via the Bioinformatics Industrial Users Platform (BIUP). The BIUP, though still in its start-up phase in mid-2011, has already attracted partners such asDSM.
A large part of NBIC's efforts focus on developing new or strengthening existing bio-informatics communities. For example, NBIC hosted the 2011Galaxy Community Conference.[18]TheNetherlands Bioinformatics for Proteomics Platform (for short NBPP) is a joint initiative of the Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre (NBIC) and theNetherlands Proteomics Centre (NPC).
The inaugural meeting of theGlobal Organisation for Bioinformatics Learning, Education and Training (GOBLET) was held at NBIC in November 2012.[19]