About the:

The Arkansas Bioinformatics Consortium (AR-BIC)

Mission:

The Arkansas Bioinformatics Consortium (AR-BIC) is a virtual Arkansas-centric bioinformatics community aimed at developing, leveraging and enhancing state-wide collaboration, thus forming a stable environment available to support the AR-wide research, education, training and entrepreneurial/industrial activities in life sciences-related computing. AR-BIC activities are within the general area of life sciences computing in AR. The goals of AR-BIC are to (1) strengthen Arkansas' ability to compete at national and international levels for research funding, (2) enable and facilitate collaboration in research where synergy is identified, (3) enhance education, training and university curricula, and (4) expand AR economic growth and job opportunities. AR-BIC is founded on the belief that we can be more than the sum of our parts, and that in our unity, we can draw strength from our diversity. Through synergy, a true critical mass of capability can be assembled to take on large challenges in public health.

Please review above, as I tried to capture the spirit of Art's comments.

AR-BIC Steering Committee:

• Arkansas State University (ASU): Andy Sustich and Xuizhen Huang
• Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA): Jerry Adams, Art Norris and Julie LaRue
• National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR): Weida Tong, Shraddha Thakkar and Roger Perkins
• University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UAF): Rick McMullen and Cynthia Sagers
• University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR): Abhijit Bhattacharyya and Jeff Connelly
• University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS): Charlotte Hobbs
• University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB): Karl Walker and Jessie Walker