Bioinformatics is playing an increasingly important role in cancer research extending from basic evaluation of cancer genetics through translational and clinical research. It is also playing an important role in connecting fields of cancer research that were previously thought to be separate, and to assisting other shared resources in sharing and utilizing large volumes of data. The mission of the HCCC Bioinformatics Shared Resource is to support the informatics needs of the clinical, basic and population scientists of the HCCC. This shared resource has the expertise to collect and utilize large-scale data sets, including molecular assays, is available to all HCCC members. Such uses are rarely a simple matter of deploying an existing software tool by the end user, thus the staff of this shared resource will assist investigators throughout the phases of experiment design and collaborate with the investigator and other shared research resources such as the DNA core and Biostatistics Core in data analysis and interpretation. Bioinformatics Shared Resource staff have the expertise to develop software tools de novo or to adapt existing tools to custom settings.