BOL: Related items

Molecular and Computational Biology Research School

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 09:01:18 -0500

The ambition of the Molecular and Computational Biology Research School (MCB) is to create an attractive and stimulating training environment for PhD students in molecular and computational biology, both to better serve the needs for relevant training in the field, and to stimulate crossdiscipline developments in the research of the parties.

http://www.uib.no/rs/mcb

Bioinformatics Workshops !

Abhi — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 02:16:53 -0500

When delving into bioinformatics, having access to reliable resources is crucial for effective research and analysis. Key online resources include the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), which offers tools like BLAST for sequence alignment and comprehensive gene databases. For presentations and educational materials, exploring SlideShare for introductory and advanced bioinformatics topics can provide valuable insights and learning aids.

https://evomics.org/2024-workshop-on-genomics/

Address of the bookmark: https://evomics.org/2024-workshop-on-genomics/

Murray Cox's Genomicus Lab

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:42:42 -0500

This group interested in modeling genome dynamics in following topics:

---how genetic variation is distributed within and between individuals,
---determining how this diversity changes over evolutionary time.

Hence, Cox group work at the interface between biology, statistics and computer science to address questions of outstanding biological importance through intrepretation of large genetic datasets.

Profile:
Associate Professor Murray Cox,
Inaugural Rutherford Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Principal Investigator in the BioProtection Research Center and Associate Investigator in the Allan Wilson Center for Molecular Ecology and Evolution
Email : m.p.cox@massey.ac.nz
Webpage: http://massey.genomicus.com/index.html

Bioinformatician at QUB, UK

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 21:43:23 -0500

The post-holder will work under the direction of the Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence's (PMC) Bioinformatics lead and collaborate closely with the Scientific and Clinical leads. The primary responsibilities will be to develop, validate and maintain data analysis pipelines and algorithms that enable the comprehensive analysis of genomic information derived from cancer specimens, within the context of clinical studies. The PMC is an ISO 15189:2012 accredited medical laboratory (Ref 20634), providing an integrated cancer diagnostic and clinical research service that combines high throughput genomics and digital pathology (www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/PMC).

About the person:

Essential criteria:

Hold or be about to obtain* a PhD in Computational biology, Bioinformatics, computing science or related subjects. (*must be obtained within 3 months of the closing date for the post) or MSc equivalent with at least 3 years' work experience in a relevant role.
Significant relevant research experience in genomics or work experience in a relevant technical/scientific role.
Significant experience in managing and analysing NGS data and other big data.
Experience in developing and maintaining analysis pipelines.
Experience working with Linux/UNIX environments.
Proficiency with python, bash, R and/or equivalent languages.
To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information document linked on our website.

More at https://hrwebapp.qub.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open

04- Informatics Approach to Cancer - Interview with Dr. Joel Saltz

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 14:35:43 -0500

For additional information visit http://www.cancerquest.org/joel-saltz-interview. Dr. Joel Saltz is a Professor in the Departments of Pathology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, and Mathematics and Computer Science at Emory University. Dr. Saltz's research on bioinformatics spans several disciplines. One project involves applying computer analysis to medical imaging to yield better results for patients. As an example, a computer program may able to help doctors detect small cancers in a CT scan or mammogram. In this interview segment, Dr. Saltz discusses the informatics approach to cancer. To learn more about cancer and watch additional interviews, please visit the CancerQuest website at http://www.cancerquest.org.

Postdoc in Comparative Single Cell Genomics at University of Basel

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 23:41:20 -0600

A fully funded 4-year Postdoc position is available in the lab of Patrick
Tschopp at the University of Basel, Switzerland, study the molecular and
tissue-scale dynamics during the embryonic formation of the vertebrate
skeleton and compare it across different vertebrate species with distinct
habitats.

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a PhD degree in
Bioinformatics or a related field. Candidates are expected to have a
strong background in evolutionary biology and/or comparative functional
genomics. Additional experiences in single cell functional genomics
analyses, statistics and computational data analyses are a plus, as is
an interest in comparative developmental (EvoDevo) questions.

We offer a dynamic and interactive research environment with state-of-the
art research facilities, good research funding and internationally
competitive salaries.

The Tschopp lab (www.evolution.unibas.ch/tschopp/research/)
studies the gene regulatory mechanisms of cell type
specification and evolution in vertebrates. See also our
preprints at https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.26.586769 and
https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.28.625862 Applications should include
a motivation letter, a CV, a list of publications, a statement about
research interests, as well as the names and contact details of at
least two referees. Applications (in the form of a single .pdf file)
should be sent to Patrick Tschopp (patrick.tschopp@unibas.ch); review
of applications will begin on January 1st 2025, and will continue until
the position is filled.

Patrick Tschopp

Evolution and Cancer

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 11:28:49 -0500

Air date: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 3:00:00 PM Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local Category: Wednesday Afternoon Lectures Description: There is a broad consensus that cancer is the result of somatic cells having serially gained, by a series of mutations, the ability to grow independently, to recruit resources from the circulation and the stroma, to invade local tissues, and to found anatomically distant metastases, ultimately killing the host. From the point of view of the cancer-causing somatic cell population, this is evolution driven by mutation and selection. Genomics has resulted in a parallel consensus that the central functions of all eukaryotes are highly conserved, not only at the level of individual protein functions, but also complex biological pathways and systems. These ideas motivated a comparison between results of molecular genetic studies of experimental evolution in yeast and the molecular genetic phenomena associated with tumorigenesis and tumor progression. We find some very striking similarities, including recurring genomic rearrangements, alterations of the regulation of specific growth-promoting genes, population-genetic features that affect the fitness trajectories of growth rate variants in evolving populations, and physiological and metabolic similarities derived from the conservation of the basic plan of growth and cell multiplication among all eukaryotes. It is hoped that some of the insights from yeast will aid the interpretation of sequence changes found in tumors, especially in the urgent necessity to distinguish 'driver' from 'passenger' mutations." David Botstein's fundamental contributions to modern genetics include the development of genetic methods for understanding biological functions and the discovery of the functions of many yeast and bacterial genes. In 1980, Botstein and three colleagues proposed a method for mapping human genes that laid the groundwork for the Human Genome Project. The basic principle of the mapping scheme was to develop, by recombinant DNA techniques, random single-copy DNA probes capable of detecting DNA sequence polymorphisms when hybridized to restriction digests, or specific fragments, of an individual's DNA. The method was used in subsequent years to identify several human disease genes, such as Huntington's and BRCA1. Variations of this method enabled the sequencing phase of the Human Genome Project. In the 1990s Botstein, having moved to Stanford University School of Medicine, collaborated with Patrick O. Brown of Stanford in exploiting DNA microarrays to study genome-wide gene expression patterns in yeast and in human cancers. This required developing a new statistical method and graphical interface, widely used today to interpret genomic data. Botstein also has helped to create, with Michael Ashburner and Gerald Rubin, a bioinformatics initiative to unify the representation of gene and gene product attributes across all species, called Gene Ontology. He graduated from Harvard College and earned his doctorate from the University of Michigan. He worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1967 to 1988; served as vice president for science at Genentech from 1988 to 1990; chaired the Department of Genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine from 1990 to 2003; and joined the Princeton University faculty in 2003. He has sat on numerous editorial boards and was the founding editor of Molecular Biology of the Cell. Among recent major awards, Bostein won the Peter Gruber Foundation Prize in Genetics in 2003, the Apple Science Innovator Award in 2008, and the Albany Medical Center Prize in 2010. The NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series includes weekly scientific talks by some of the top researchers in the biomedical sciences worldwide. For more information, visit: The NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series Author: Dr. David Botstein, Princeton University Runtime: 00:59:58 Permanent link: http://videocast.nih.gov/launch.asp?17046

Exploring RNA Sequence Analysis: Tools for Every Bioinformatician

Neel — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 04:03:04 -0600

RNA sequence analysis has become an essential part of modern biological research. From RNA-seq pipelines to specialized tools for specific RNA types, here's a comprehensive guide to tools you can use to make sense of RNA data.

1. RNA-Seq Analysis Pipelines

RNA-seq is one of the most popular techniques for studying RNA. These tools streamline processing raw sequence data:

FASTQC: For quality control of raw RNA-seq reads.
Trimmomatic: For trimming and filtering RNA-seq reads.
HISAT2/STAR: High-performance aligners for RNA-seq reads.
FeatureCounts: For quantifying gene expression.
DESeq2/EdgeR: For differential expression analysis.

2. Transcriptome Assembly and Annotation

For analyzing transcriptomes from non-model organisms or assembling novel transcripts:

Trinity: For de novo transcriptome assembly.
StringTie: For transcript assembly and quantification from RNA-seq alignments.
TransDecoder: To predict coding regions within assembled transcripts.
TAU: Tools for annotating non-coding and coding RNAs.

3. Exploring Non-Coding RNA (ncRNA)

Non-coding RNAs play critical regulatory roles. Dedicated tools for studying them include:

Infernal: For identifying ncRNA sequences based on covariance models.
Rfam: Database and tools for ncRNA families.
miRDeep: For identifying microRNAs in RNA-seq datasets.

4. RNA Structure and Motif Analysis

Structural biology of RNA helps in understanding its function:

RNAfold (ViennaRNA): Predicts secondary structures from RNA sequences.
RNAstructure: Tools for RNA secondary structure prediction and analysis.
MEME Suite: For identifying motifs in RNA sequences.
IntaRNA: For RNA-RNA interaction prediction.

5. RNA Editing and Modifications

Epitranscriptomics is a growing field focusing on RNA modifications:

REDItools: For RNA editing analysis.
m6Aboost: For identifying m6A modifications in RNA.

6. Long-Read RNA Sequencing Analysis

Long-read technologies like Nanopore and PacBio are transforming RNA research:

FLAIR: For isoform-level analysis of long-read RNA-seq data.
NanoMod: For detecting modifications in RNA from Nanopore sequencing.

7. RNA-Protein Interactions

To study RNA-protein interactions and complexes:

RBPmap: For identifying RNA-binding protein motifs.
PARalyzer: For analyzing PAR-CLIP data.

8. Functional Enrichment Analysis

Understanding biological functions and pathways from RNA-seq data:

getENRICH: A tool designed for pathway enrichment analysis of non-model organisms (hypergeometric P-value calculation with FDR correction).
ClusterProfiler: For GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis.

9. Visualization and Data Sharing

Presenting and sharing RNA sequence analysis results effectively:

IGV: Genome browser for visualizing RNA-seq alignments.
Circos: Circular visualization of RNA-seq data.
DashBio: A Python library for creating bioinformatics visualizations.

Conclusion

The bioinformatics landscape for RNA sequence analysis is vast, with tools catering to specific needs. Whether you’re studying coding RNAs, non-coding RNAs, or exploring RNA-protein interactions, the right tools can transform your data into biological insights.

Pre- or postdoctoral research fellowship in Structural Bioinformatics in Padova

Wed, 02 Oct 2013 15:12:22 -0500

University of Padova (URL: http://protein.bio.unipd.it/)

A research fellowship is available at the BioComputing Laboratory, University of Padova (URL: http://protein.bio.unipd.it/). A highly motivated and creative candidate is sought to work on structural bioinformatics. Specifically, the project entails the development of novel methods, tools and databases for the analysis of protein structures. The BioComputing Laboratory is a group of a dozen people working on several aspects of prediction of protein structure & function employing techniques at the intersection between biology, medicine, chemistry, physics & computer science. Our aim is to integrate the development of novel methods and their application to biologically relevant problems. We are looking for candidates with a solid Bioinformatics background, programming experience (Python, Perl, C++ and/or Java) and good knowledge of molecular biology (protein structure/function, signalling pathways). Candidates should have a degree with top marks, optionally hold a PhD, and be highly motivated to work on interdisciplinary research. Good knowledge of English, an open-minded spirit, being collaborative and creative are crucial. The fellowship, which should start in late 2013, is initially for one year. It will be commensurate to experience, can be extended depending on performance and may lead to a PhD degree. The successful candidate will be located at the BioComputing Laboratory, University of Padova. Travel support for conferences and/or research visits abroad may be provided. To apply, please send your CV, a brief description of your research background and the names of two (or more) references to Prof. Silvio Tosatto (Email: silvio.tosatto@unipd.it).

Contact Person (Referent): Silvio Tosatto
Ref. E-Mail: silvio.tosatto@unipd.it
Tel: +39 049 827 6269
Fax: +39 049 827 6260
Group Web Page: http://protein.bio.unipd.it/

Life as a Bioinformatician – Expectation vs. Reality

Abhi — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:32:36 -0600

You enter the world of bioinformatics envisioning a sleek, high-tech career, surrounded by cutting-edge algorithms, advanced computational tools, and groundbreaking discoveries. You imagine a seamless integration of biology and data science, where every day you decode the mysteries of life at a molecular level. Your days will be spent analyzing elegant datasets, publishing in top-tier journals, and making significant contributions to human health and the environment. To top it off, you picture yourself working in a comfortable, quiet environment, with plenty of time to perfect your skills and learn new ones.

While the expectations are not entirely off base, the reality of life as a bioinformatician is a mix of exciting discoveries, troubleshooting, and, let’s admit it, a fair amount of frustration. Here’s what it’s really like:

1. Expectation: Seamlessly Working with Perfect Datasets

Reality: You often receive messy, incomplete, or poorly annotated datasets. Hours are spent cleaning, normalizing, and validating data before you even begin your analysis. "Garbage in, garbage out" is a constant reminder in your workflow. Tools designed to handle these problems exist, but they require significant customization, which adds another layer of complexity.

2. Expectation: Effortless Multidisciplinary Integration

Reality: Bridging biology and computational science is far from straightforward. You need to be proficient in both domains while keeping up with advancements in genomics, machine learning, and statistics. Additionally, collaborating with biologists who might not be fluent in computational jargon requires patience and effective communication skills.

3. Expectation: Rapid, Groundbreaking Results

Reality: Analysis often involves waiting—waiting for scripts to run, pipelines to complete, or software to install. Bioinformatics projects are iterative; you analyze, debug, and refine repeatedly. A single project might take months to complete due to unforeseen challenges, like computational bottlenecks or the need for additional experiments.

4. Expectation: Beautiful Visualizations with a Click

Reality: While tools like R, Python, and specialized software can create stunning plots, generating a publication-ready visualization requires significant effort. You’ll spend hours tweaking axes, labels, and color palettes, ensuring clarity and accuracy.

5. Expectation: All Work, No Bugs

Reality: Debugging is an integral part of the job. Whether it’s a misconfigured server, a script throwing unexpected errors, or a pipeline breaking due to an update, you’ll develop a knack for problem-solving under pressure.

6. Expectation: Ample Time for Skill Development

Reality: Bioinformatics moves fast. Juggling ongoing projects, tight deadlines, and the constant stream of new tools and algorithms leaves little time for leisurely learning. Staying updated requires proactive effort—evenings, weekends, or dedicated study breaks.

7. Expectation: Publishing Papers Regularly

Reality: Publishing in bioinformatics is a marathon, not a sprint. Your analysis needs to be thorough, reproducible, and supported by strong biological insights. Reviewers often demand additional experiments or clarifications, stretching the timeline even further.

8. Expectation: A Clear Career Path

Reality: Bioinformatics offers diverse career paths, from academia and industry to healthcare and government. However, the choice can be daunting, with each path requiring unique skill sets and presenting different challenges. Navigating these options takes time, research, and sometimes trial and error.

Finding Joy in the Chaos

Despite these challenges, being a bioinformatician is immensely rewarding. You are at the forefront of science, enabling discoveries that impact medicine, agriculture, and the environment. The thrill of uncovering insights hidden in complex datasets and the satisfaction of solving biological puzzles make the hard work worthwhile.

Advice for Aspiring Bioinformaticians

Embrace Learning: The field is ever-evolving. Stay curious and adaptable.
Develop Communication Skills: Bridging the gap between biology and computation is as much about explaining your methods as it is about applying them.
Find a Community: Collaborate with peers, join forums, and attend conferences to stay inspired and updated.
Celebrate Small Wins: Every cleaned dataset, successful script, or informative plot is a step forward.

Bioinformatics is a blend of science, technology, and artistry. While the reality might not match the polished expectations, the journey is nothing short of exhilarating. If you’re ready to embrace the chaos and keep learning, the field of bioinformatics will never cease to amaze you.