BACKGROUND

For those bioinformaticians out there looking to work on some difficult problems or earn some money, I wanted to tell you about InnoCentive. InnoCentive, founded in 2001 by Eli Lilly, is an online innovation marketplace with over 165,000 'solvers' that work on the world's most challenging problems in exchange for cash rewards. The 'seekers' in this marketplace are companies, not-for-profit organizations and governments. In our seven years of existence, we've given out over $2 million in rewards.

OPPORTUNITY:
InnoCentive currently has several bioinformatics Challenges posted on its marketplace, and I wanted to draw your attention to them.

1) Seeking more efficient algorithms for identifying QTL can be found at: http://www.innocentive.com/servlets/project/ProjectInfo.po?f=view&id=7837183
The individual who can provide the best solution for this Challenge will receive a cash award of $35,000.

2) Looking for methodologies of using bioinformatics to guide the modification of plant genomes. This Challenge can be found at http://www.innocentive.com/servlets/project/ProjectInfo.po?f=view&id=7830290
The individual who can provide the best solution for this Challenge will receive a cash award of $20,000.

I would also encourage you to stay tuned to the InnoCentive website since more bioinformatics Challenges will be coming online over the next few weeks.