| As the demand for analysis of gene expression data intensifies, several applications targeting quantitative data analysis through visual approaches have been introduced. One such commercial application is Spotfire DecisionSite for Functional Genomics. Although useful for visualizing and filtering microarray data, it lacks the ability to visualize gene expression values and annotations in relation to the genome. This thesis presents a software solution that integrates DecisionSite for Functional Genomics (DSFG) with Affymetrix’s Integrated Genome Browser (IGB). The latter provides a visual environment for researchers to explore experimental and computational data in a genomic context.The integration toolset, which can be easily added to existing DecisionSite software, allows users to transfer selections and microarray data from DSFG to IGB, and set up the IGB environment with a set of public or internal annotations. In addition, it provides a link between the two programs that enables researchers to analyze Affymetrix exon arrays, and investigate the alternative splicing of genes. |