ONIX is a free online cancer research portal which has newly been launched by National Cancer Research Institute. This portal is believed to be of great help to clinicians and scientists to browse online and search for international cancer-related research data. This may in turn prove to be very helpful in bettering the spread of cancer research data in between institutions, individuals and organizations.
With the use of a powerful search technology, this portal notably ensures a reduced amount of time then presently taken to search for data regarding cancer. Apparently, it lowers the time consumed to look for relevant data among a wide array of information ranging from genomics to clinical trails. This is in turn believed to bring about a worldwide reduction in the duplication of research efforts, thus making it simpler for experts to join forces on related evaluations. More so, it is also believed that this could increase the speed with which novel developments take place and could even possibly enhance prognosis and diagnosis.
“ONIX represents a major advance for cancer research in the UK. I urge all cancer researchers, whether basic scientists, clinical researchers or pre-clinical medical students, to register with ONIX, explore the system in depth and continue to use it over the coming months and years,†says lead of the ONIX development on the behalf of NCRI, Professor Sir Alex Markham. “Researchers can use it to pull out specific, relevant data from the haystack of information out there – really saving them valuable time. As a result researchers will be better connected with the latest projects, data and updates from institutions in the field of cancer. What you see now is just the beginning – the system will eventually become a one-stop resource for online cancer research.â€
ONIX (Oncology Information eXchange) is believed to make it possible for cancer-related experts to conduct a simultaneous search through various databases and select the latest cancer-related happenings. Apart from this, it also gives the required information as to what particular research is been carried out by which researchers and where.
Chair of NCRI, Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, states that, “The NCRI partners are pleased to support the launch and continued development of ONIX. The role of ONIX in connecting resources and information, and streamlining research supports the key principles of high-level coordination that the NCRI aims to achieve. I am optimistic that ONIX will provide a research tool of significant benefit to both cancer researchers and cancer patients alike.â€
Supposedly, ONIX is also believed to be further developed, based on the feedback’s provided by its users. Apart from this, the portal will evidently continue developing the system by adding more data to it.