The genomics revolution has harnessed the growing power of molecular biotechnologies to identify nucleotide sequences, the heritable material of life, leading to an understanding of both its variation and expression. The extent of this genomics revolution has spanned diverse types of life, ranging from humans and other well-studied organisms to the many other organisms found on planet earth, including bacteria and viruses.
This has led to an unparalleled opportunity to investigate life's variation at the molecular genetic level, and to better identify the association of this variation with conditions of health and disease. The increasing ease and power by which new genomic data can be collected has led to an ongoing avalanche of genomic data now requiring advancements in computing power and a well-trained workforce for genomic data analysis. GRADS-4C is part of a national effort to help develop and expand a diverse workforce trained in both cloud computing and genomics in response to this need.