Cambridge Epigenetix"s mission is to change the way medicine is practised by reducing several routine and important diagnostic screening tests to a simple blood draw using the power of the 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) epigenetic modification.

Cambridge Epigenetix (CE) and Google have engaged with Dotmodus to provide a solution which would improve workflows of an existing data quality system (DQS), within the context of a biotechnology lab environment. The scope of this work focused on DQS Search and DQS Reports.

DotModus was chosen to help implement search engine capability in the DQS, giving users the ability to search sample files over various projects. With regards to DQS Reports, DotModus would create a reporting front end for users to view the status of various sampling procedures.

Our Solution

A custom UI using VueJS was built and hosted on App Engine. This UI leveraged a custom API built using Django Rest Framework, hosted on Google Kubernetes Engine and backed by a Postgres database hosted on Cloud SQL. The UI provides an intuitive search functionality that allows users to easily track and navigate the contents of Google Cloud Storage. Users are also provided dashboarding functionality that gives insight into the state of the pipeline, based on logging information in BigQuery. Cloud functions were used to monitor the appropriate storage buckets and keep the Postgres database up to date.

The Result

Cambridge Epigenetix users are now able to view all their DQS reports and filter on various criteria within the files. The results can then be exported and used throughout the business.

Streamlining Cambridge Epigenetix’s ability to explore their data means they can now generate accurate and reliable reports quickly and effectively. In turn, these reports are helping drive research at the company and ensuring that their pioneering work continues.