German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) and Neo4j Honored as Finalists for Strata Data Award

Neo4j and DZD recognized for applying graph analytics to further widespread, positive impact on society

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Mar 25, 2019, 04:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Strata Data Conference – Neo4 j, the leader in graph databases, announced today that the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) has been honored as a finalist for the Strata Data Awards for its Neo4j implementation.

DZDconnect, the DZD's graph database implementation combines research data sources from genetics, epigenetics and metabolic pathways with data from clinical studies to find new ways to fight diabetes.

Graph representation of "DZDconnect" metadata of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD).

According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), one out of every eleven adults worldwide has diabetes, that is approximately 425 million people worldwide – a number that has quadrupled since 1980. Furthermore, twelve percent of global health expenditure $727 billion is spent on diabetes. In order to better understand its causes, DZD scientists examine the disease from as many different angles as possible.

DZD's research network accumulates a huge amount of data distributed across various locations and consolidates it into a single, master database. This central database provides DZD's 400-strong team of scientists with a holistic view of available information, enabling them to gain valuable insights into the causes and progression of diabetes. The team has begun using Neo4j in combination with artificial intelligence (AI) to make new connections in diabetes research. By leveraging its connected data, DZD is now able to further their ultimate goal to help patients with more individualized therapies and prevention plans.

With support from Neo4j, Dr. Alexander Jarasch set up DZDconnect. The graph database sits as a layer over the various relational databases linking different DZD systems and data silos. DZD scientists are particularly impressed by Neo4j's graph visualization and easy querying across massive, disparate datasets.

"Creating the first data models with Neo4j was very fast," said Dr. Jarasch. "In the first week, I was able to connect metadata from our scientists into a data model, test the model and show the added value of the graph database. Thanks to the high scalability and performance of Neo4j, the data integration possibilities are limitless. Measurement data is automatically transmitted to the DZDconnect tool, and we're employing AI and graph analytics to find connections with other diseases, including cancers."

The Strata Data Awards

The awards will be handed out at the Strata Data Conference, taking place March 25-28, 2019 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. Curated by a team of industry experts, the nominated award finalists are sorted into four different categories. The DZDconnect project using Neo4j is a finalist in the "Data Impact" category.

Strata Data attendees are invited to vote for the company of their choice in each category by texting and following the instructions displayed on conference signage and keynote slides at the event. Attendees should visit the Neo4j team at Booth 927 to learn more. Winners will be announced during the keynote presentations on March 28.

Neo4j at Strata

Neo4j's work with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) will be featured in a Strata session titled 'The Paradise Papers and West Africa Leaks: Behind the scenes with the ICIJ'. The talk will take place on Thursday, March 28, at 3:50pm–4:30pm, at the 2018 location. ICIJ CTO Pierre Romera will explain how his team made sense of the massive amounts of data, using Neo4j and other technologies in a yearlong investigation on the offshore dealings of multinational companies and wealthy individuals around the globe.

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About Neo4j

Neo4j is the leading graph database platform that drives innovation and competitive advantage at Airbus, Comcast, eBay, NASA, UBS, Walmart and more. Thousands of community deployments and more than 300 customers harness connected data with Neo4j to reveal how people, processes, locations and systems are interrelated. Using this relationships-first approach, applications built using Neo4j tackle connected data challenges including artificial intelligence, fraud detection, real-time recommendations and master data. Find out more at neo4j.com.

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SOURCE Neo4j