GGC Named Winner of 2023 Amazon Web Services IMAGINE Grant for Nonprofits

GGC will work with Amazon’s cloud computing arm to integrate genomic data and improve the ability to diagnose genetic disorders.

GREENWOOD, SC  — The Greenwood Genetic Center today announced it has been selected as a winner of the 2023 Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant, a public grant opportunity open to registered 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom who are using technology to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.

The grant will support GGC’s Precision Medicine Initiative to provide a scalable, secure solution to integrate patient data from clinical encounters, laboratory testing, and research studies to make it accessible, searchable, and actionable.

Now in its sixth year, the AWS IMAGINE Grant program provides vital resources to nonprofit organizations looking to deploy cloud technology as a central tool to achieve mission goals. As part of the program, AWS seeks proposals for big ideas on how to leverage technology in new and innovative ways to accelerate impact in local and global communities.

GGC’s winning proposal includes the ability to combine the Center’s 50 years of patient data, currently stored across multiple platforms, into an integrated system, allowing for improved data interrogation and identification of patterns to help make rare genetic diagnoses more quickly.  The grant will also support the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence initiatives at GGC.

GGC was named a winner in the Momentum to Modernize category which recognizes foundational technology projects. GGC will receive up to $50,000 in unrestricted funding, up to $30,000 in AWS Promotional Credits, and project implementation support. Proposals were judged on several factors including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals, and clearly defined outcomes and milestones.

“The advancements that will be supported by this award will allow us to identify patterns and commonly affected patients, improve diagnostic rates using genomic data, and ultimately enhance our ability to diagnose and treat rare genetic disorders,” said Kevin Farren, GGC’s Director of Data Integration and Management. Farren was invited to share GGC’s winning proposal as part of a panel discussion at the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas last week. “We are grateful to AWS for investing in the future of genomic medicine and in the lives of our patients and their families.”

Since the launch of the IMAGINE Grant program in 2018, AWS has awarded over $7M in unrestricted funds, AWS Promotional Credits, and AWS training support to 89 nonprofit organizations in support of their technology-driven goals. Previous winners are currently using AWS services to tackle critical challenges such as preventing service member and veteran suicide, identifying promising and affordable treatments for cancer, helping underrepresented individuals prepare for high-growth careers in technology, and more.

“I’m inspired by the ways in which our IMAGINE Grant winners are innovating with technology to improve lives worldwide,” said Allyson Fryhoff, Managing Director of Nonprofit and Global Health at Amazon Web Services. “We look forward to collaborating with these organizations as they leverage cloud to scale their impact and help solve some of society’s biggest challenges.”

Over 85,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide use AWS to increase their impact and advance mission goals. Through multiple programs tailored specifically to the nonprofit community, AWS can enable nonprofits of all sizes to overcome barriers to technology adoption, while enhancing the scale, performance, and capabilities of mission operations.

For more information on the AWS IMAGINE Grant, visit aws.amazon.com/imagine-grant