Signature Science, LLC has been awarded funding for Phase 2 of their work supporting the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity’s (IARPA) Functional Genomic and Computational Assessment of Threats (Fun GCAT) program, the Austin, TX-based company announced April 23. The research team will continue development of their Sequence to Functional Analysis of Threats (S2FAST) software for screening short DNA sequences to reveal species of origin, functional annotations, and threat assessments. Phase 2 funding is valued at $1.9 million.
The challenge is to overcome
the sensitivity and precision limitations of contemporary synthetic DNA
screening practices to rapidly extrapolate functional information and isolate a
prospective threat within a segment of DNA. The research team will continue
development of Phase 1 core sequence analysis tools for sensitive taxonomic
identification and functional characterization of short input sequences. The
multi-disciplinary team is comprised of molecular biologists, bioinformatics
specialists, statisticians, and software engineers.
Signature Science was a prime
performer for Phase 1 of IARPA’s Fun GCAT program. “We are proud of the Phase 1
scientific advances made by our dedicated and capable team and appreciative of
the continued confidence and trust shown us by the IARPA leadership and program
staff. Signature Science and our teaming partners remain fully committed to
program success,” said William Thompson, Signature Science President &
CEO.
Work under the contract is expected to be performed at Signature Science’s facilities in Austin, TX, Arlington, VA, and Charlottesville, VA, as well as partner facilities in Houston, TX, College Park, MD, and Newark, CA.
Source: Signature Science
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