The consortium, which includes a number of SAS researchers, is conducting a study of DNA microarray technology sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Microarrays allow researchers to study thousands of pieces of genetic material at once and help to explain how diseases develop and progress.

The study currently has yielded results from its first phase and is preparing to enter a second phase in which researchers expect to spend two years determining whether various genetic biomarkers can reliably predict a disease's progression in an individual patient, and which drug should produce the safest and best treatment results.

SAS is the world's largest privately held software company and specializes in business intelligence software such as data mining. The company employs more than 4,200 workers at its headquarters in Cary.

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