ANGIS cheered after long-awaited cash injection

The Australian National Genomic Information Service (ANGIS) is in hiring mode, thanks to a small injection of fresh funds.

That's good news for cash-strapped Australian researchers for whom ANGIS has been the most cost-effective supplier of genome-related database and software services.

ANGIS head Mike Poidinger said the service was now in the process of doubling its head count by searching for three new staffers: a technical writer, systems administrator and bioinformatics developer.

The new funds were unlocked from several sources, including the NHMRC and money owed to ANGIS from a previous Australian Research Council grant to a related entity. If the funding hadn't arrived, ANGIS might have "withered away" within the next year, said Poidinger.

The money, amounting to "a few hundred thousand dollars," will allow ANGIS to make equipment purchases as well as hire extra staff.

The new positions will be advertised through the University of Sydney, where ANGIS is located, but Poidinger is hoping to hire casual help while waiting for the posts to be filled: "The problem now will be getting them up to speed as quickly as possible."

The perennially under-resourced facility has for years provided an Australian-based mirror site of overseas gene sequence databases. It also offers public domain and licensed commercial software tools for genome data search and analysis.