Certus Technology

Certus Technology is an independent software development and consultancy company that designs, builds, delivers and supports software services. Created in 2000, Certus has UK offices in Exeter and Sheffield.Certus has broad experience in developing systems for life science projects. Directly relevant expertise includes ontology development, temporal databases, genetics, statistical analysis, SNP detection in DNA sequences, radiological description, experimental design and research data management. Our technological expertise includes semantic database, the semantic web (RDF, OWL, SKOS, SPARQL) and data linking, and workflow based systems to manage complex clinical and scientific datasets. As a software engineering company we are skilled in the development of robust and secure web based systems.

 

Certus roles in SYBIL

Certus will provide information systems and IT support to the consortium. We will provide an initial database platform early in the project and evolve this to become the Project Workflow and Management System (PWMS). We will develop process support within this systems to coordinate and track the project’s operations. We will work with the partners to marshal omics data and to monitor work package progress. We will provide a semantically annotated data repository to support data linking. This will store, link and integrate the project's omics data and deliver this to the systems biology WPs. We will use our experience to contribute to the development and management of ontologies, and implement analytical techniques to support the systems biology as required. We will provide the project's information systems infrastructure.

Facilities available at Certus include Data Repositories, Electronic Lab Books, Patient Databases, Patient Registries, Genetic Databases, Security and Workflow Management modules, and data gathering and cleaning pipelines. Development, configuration and monitoring of systems - the infrastructure includes unit, integration and regression testing environments, configuration management systems, automated build, test and deployment systems to support continuous delivery models of software service provision. Hardware and software infrastructures include server and network resources necessary to system delivery, data backup and security.

 

Certus staff involved in SYBIL

Ian Bamsey – Director and Systems Architect, has a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He has extensive management experience, in the UK and abroad, and has been Managing Director of the company since its incorporation in 2000. Ian’s information technology experience ranges from control system engineering to finance and billing systems. Ian has broad engineering experience and has led product development efforts, achieving an ISO9001 accreditation for the design process. He has worked in Europe, India, the USA, Jamaica and Pakistan.

 

 

 

Brian Lings – Ontology Developer and Data Coordinator, has a degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Computer Science. He is an information systems expert with 30 years of experience of research and development as an academic then as Information Systems Director at Certus since 2005. He has participated in a number of EU and national projects related to healthcare informatics and interoperability. He has particular expertise in the database area. From 2004-6 he chaired the steering group of the UK national forum for database researchers.

 

 

 

Rob Pumphrey – Systems Architect and Development Manager, has a degree in Civil Engineering and a Doctorate in applied mathematics. He has detailed knowledge of numerical modelling. Rob is a software architect with a range of programming skills gained initially while working for the AEA Technology group in the UK and the USA. With over 20 years as a software engineer, he designed the company's open software architecture and MDE tool chain. Rob drives the company's pursuit of continuous improvement with appropriate utilisation of Open Source software.