Genomics and Big Data in Biomedicine

Abstract

The ease with which genomic data can be generated and disseminated, and particularly the novel opportunities offered by the fast and cheap genotyping of individual patients, is resulting in the building of large scale, nested online databases. These databases collate and provide access to data produced at high Velocity, in great Volume and coming from a vast Variety of sources, thus exemplifying the 3Vs definition commonly given to Big Data. Genomics often features as a prominent example of how Big Data collection and analysis can result in novel approaches to healthcare, such as personalised and precision medicine. In this chapter, we discuss the extent to which genomic data live up to this promise, and the challenges encountered when conceptualising genomics and related technologies as a model for data-driven research and care.