Scientific research often benefits from open innovation. While there are many examples, I am particularly excited to see what happens in the area of cancer genomics. The Genome Center at Washington University published the results of sequencing the first cancer genome back in November 2008. Internally, there was collaboration between departments in the School of Medicine resulting in innovative analyses and leading to more discoveries. Since then I’ve read and heard about a number of similar or follow up projects at varioius institutions. As data is shared amongst researchers across the world, new collaborations will be formed. The innovations resulting from these collaborations will hopefully result in better treatments for cancer.
