History
CCB was established to accomodate the computational needs of faculty in three departments (Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, and Genetics) to exploit the unique opportunities presented by sequencing of the human genome as well as the genomes of other species including pathogens. The Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University, which has had such a prominent role in sequencing the human genome, has provided a rich environment of genomics and bioinformatics (Profs. Brent, Eddy, Gish and Stormo.) Currently, Washington University is in the midst of recruiting new faculty to complement and expand current strengths in computational biology.
The Center for Computational Biology represents an expanded commitment by Washington University to further the development of innovative computational approaches to complex biological problems. The former Center for Molecular Design will continue its old mission focusing on therapeutic opportunities under this new administrative umbrella. Building on its international reputation in drug design and bioinformatics, CCB plans to continue its training role for industrial scientists and the development of useful approaches in molecular design and application of computational biology to practical problems.
The Center for Computational Biology is housed in its own facility at 700 S. Euclid Avenue. The building, erected on April 8, 1924, was originally the nurses' residence for the St. Louis Shriner's Hospital. Washington University has completed the renovation of this facility. In the renovated space, there are laboratories and offices for researchers as well as for the technical staff. CCB has a lecture/classroom and its own computing facility. Access to clusters of CPUs as well as the supercomputer on main campus is available.
Brief History
The Institute for Biomedical Computing (IBC) was an outgrowth of the Computer systems Laboratory (CSL) and the Biomedical Computer Laboratory (BCL) established jointly by the Schools of Engineering and the Medical School in the early 1960's. The primary focus of those two laboratories was to explore special purpose computing (CSL) and to provide hardware and software (BCL) support to a variety of computer-based initiatives at Washington University Medical School. These included computer-based tomography, modular computer hardware (registers, accumulators, etc.) for exploration of hardware configurations, ICU monitoring, radiation planning, and molecular graphics. As access to personal computers that could be readily adapted to laboratory applications became commonplace, the need for specialized hardware design diminished and the two laboratories were merged in 1982 as the Institute for Biomedical Computiing.
CMD was established at Washington University in 1988 as part of the IBC to accelerate the impact of scientific advances in computational chemistry and molecular modeling on drug discovery. It was the culmination of over twenty-five years of research in molecular modeling and computer graphics at Washington University. CMD initially received support from industry for a consortium for software development, along with active grant support from the National Institutes of Health. A major emphasis at CMD was the development of effective tools for molecular design and the training of scientists in the applications of computational chemistry to therapeutic problems. This misssion continues as part of the CCB.
For a more complete history..