Sage Bionetworks

BIG NEWS: We have just launched SynapseChat! 🤖

We now have an AI chatbot integrated into our Synapse platform. This is the best example of an LLM built into an NIH-listed generalist repository.

It’s going to transform the way researchers find and query data.

So what does it mean for you?
- High-precision search of datasets of interest
- Helpful summaries of complex data
- Assistance in making new connections across different findings

Our new AI agent marks a major step in making our biomedical data more discoverable and usable, all while maintaining our highest standards of patient privacy.

Make your next discovery at lightspeed by trying out SynapseChat today!

Learn more about the Chatbot and what it can do for you: sagebionetworks.org/article/sage-b…

Need help with your data management needs? We’d love to help! Check out our plans: synapse.org/Plans:default

1/ Today we're launching Rare Disease, Real Kid: The MVA Hackathon 2026 🧬

An open research hackathon built on the real genome and clinical history of one child living with Mosaic Variegated Aneuploidy, an ultra-rare genetic condition affecting fewer than 50 people worldwide.

🧬 Help Advance Genomic Interpretation—Join a CAGI7 Challenge!

Sage Bionetworks is excited to support the recently launched CAGI7 (Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation) challenges—open to researchers, data scientists, and students who want to help predict the functional impact of genetic variants.

8 challenges are already open for submission. These include:

🔹 BARD1: Predict how single nucleotide variants affect RNA abundance and cell survival—using data from saturation genome editing of a key tumor suppressor gene.

🔹 ARSA: Predict the stability of 8,867 missense variants in Arylsulfatase A, linked to the lysosomal storage disorders.

🔹 ATP7B: Model the functional effects of ATP7B missense variants—key to understanding Wilson disease, a disorder of copper metabolism that affects the liver and brain.

Work with cutting-edge data, get credit, and contribute to a global open science effort to improve genetic prediction models.

➡️ Explore the open challenges and register today
genomeinterpretation.org

#CAGI7 #openscience #datachallenges

As with others, we at Sage Bionetworks are mourning the passing of Atul, our colleague and joint architect of this organization. One instance that illustrates how important his voice was to Sage is the time when, along with Trey Ideker and Eric Schadt, Atul helped us form the "Sage Bionetworks “Federation.”

While he was at Stanford, he hosted all of us and helped finalize our charter for a Sage Federation. It was framed so that all students in these four individual labs were given full and direct access to what was in each other’s labs—from reagents to code to data—and, as one large lab, encouraged students to find counterparts in other labs to collaborate with on projects.

What was the "Sage Bionetworks Federation"? ➡️ perplexity.ai/search/what-wa…

This Sage Federation worked on several projects, but one of the best examples—driven jointly by students in the Ideker Lab and at Sage Bionetworks (Justin Guinney)—was the successful search for how methylation patterns could predict biological age. This work was published in 2013 in Molecular Cell: doi.org/10.1016/j.molc…

This is notable for both Biomarker Development and Open Science.

Biomarker Development: The paper established DNA methylation as a robust biomarker for aging, influencing subsequent research on epigenetic clocks and age-related disease prediction.

Collaborative Science: It exemplified the power of data sharing and collaboration in advancing biomedical research.

We at Sage will miss you, Atul.

Stephen Friend
Chairman of the Board
Sage Bionetworks

Luca Foschini
President
Sage Bionetworks

(Photo credit: Noah Berger/UCSF)

Big News for Aging and Longevity Research! 🧬

We have now launched the ELITE portal (Exceptional Longevity Translational Resources)—the largest open-access molecular data repository dedicated to studying exceptional human longevity!

💡 Why ELITE matters:
🔹 Fosters collaboration among longevity researchers
🔹 Standardizes data collection for stronger comparative insights
🔹 Democratizes access to previously siloed datasets
🔹 Accelerates discoveries that could unlock the secrets of longer, healthier lives

With generous funding from the @NIHAging, our initial release features comprehensive molecular profiles of centenarians and their offspring, with plans for continued expansion as the research community contributes new data.

This open, community-driven portal is a milestone for aging research, providing scientists worldwide with unprecedented access to critical datasets.

Explore the portal today: lnkd.in/gBqC_JKH