VISC (Variant Information Standardization Collegium) is a research group that aims to establish standards for representing human genome variant information. Recent advances in long-read sequencing, hybrid assembly, Hi-C, and analytic methods for detecting and genotyping structural variants have made it possible to capture structural polymorphisms at large scale and with high accuracy—a level that was previously difficult to achieve.

At the same time, a standardized method for describing complex structural variants has yet to be established, and challenges are anticipated in terms of data accumulation and integration with existing knowledge. VISC seeks to propose standards for representing and sharing inter-individual genomic differences, contributing to the development of a knowledge infrastructure for future genome information science. The topics we address span a wide range, including genome structural variants, graph genomes, pangenomes, population genetics, ontologies, and algorithms.