Integrating Automated Workflows, Human Intelligence and Collaboration

Many methods and tools have evolved for microarray analysis such as single probe evaluation, promoter module modeling and pathway analysis. Little is known, however, about optimizing this flow of analysis for the flexible reasoning biomedical researchers need for hypothesizing about disease mechanisms. In developing and implementing a workflow, we found that workflows are not complete or valuable unless automation is well-integrated with human intelligence. We present our workflow for the translational problem of classifying new sub-types of renal diseases. Using our workflow as an example, we explain opportunities and limitations in achieving this necessary integration and propose approaches to guide such integration for the next great frontier-facilitating exploratory analysis of candidate genes.