Novel diagnostic platform for detection of Osteoarthritis

I invite applications from highly motivated individuals to join my laboratory as a PhD student in Systems Biology at the University of Calgary McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health. This project is aimed at characterizing the networks of physical (protein-protein) interactions underlying inflammatory processes in patients with Osteoarthritis and how this differs from patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and normal individuals. This work will eventually lead to the development of a novel diagnostic platform for the non-invasive and accurate detection of early Osteoarthritis. The selected candidate will use state-of-the-art computational methodologies to systematically analyze proteomic data, and develop /implement new algorithms to identify protein and functional interaction networks from high throughput experimental data. The individual will also benefit by working closely with experts at the UofC and UofA through an AIHS Alberta Osteoarthritis Team Grant which includes experts from all pillars of health research. The candidate will also be supported to attend bioinformatics workshops and conferences to advance and disseminate their research.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or equivalent with strong background knowledge of the Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, and Microbiology. The individual should additionally have experience in handling high-throughput data sets as well as programming skills. The candidate will be registered as a PhD student in Dr. Krawetz’s laboratory, located in the new state-of-the-art Health Research Innovation Centre at the UofC. The individual will have strong verbal and written skills and the ability to work efficiently in a team environment.

In addition to the outstanding research opportunities available in this setting, students also enjoy the many cultural and sporting amenities provided in the city of Calgary, and can take advantage of the unparalleled skiing and hiking in the Rocky Mountains that are less than an hour away.

Candidates must be academically competitive and will be expected to apply for external funding. The stipend is $25,000/yr. For outstanding PhD students, internal top-up award opportunities are available on a competitive basis. If interested in joining the lab, please contact Dr. Krawetz directly at rkrawetz@ucalgary.ca and provide the following information:

- Short cover letter explaining your interest in the lab
- Resume
- Scanned copy of transcript or listing of course grades
- Names and contact information for two individuals who will be willing to provide letters of reference

Address of the bookmark: https://github.com/GMOD/jb2profile

- Development of computational methods to investigate the interplay between epigenetic and genetic layers and their role in tumor progression, by integrating genomic, epigenomic and transcriptional data. PI: Mattia Pelizzola (http://tiny.cc/comEpi)
- Epigenome and transcriptome analysis in mouse models of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. PI: Bruno Amati - Small and long non-coding RNAs in cancer stem cells. PI: Francesco Nicassio

All projects will benefit from the availability of both in-house and publicly available next-generation sequencing datasets. Familiarity with Linux environment, programming skills (especially in R) and a background in either computational biology, or physics/engineering/math will be advantageous.

Deadline for the application January 6th, to apply: http://genomics.iit.it/resources.html

Start date: March 1st, 2014

Duration: 1+2 years

Contact Person (Referent): Mattia Pelizzola

Ref. E-Mail: mattia.pelizzola@iit.it

Tel: 0039-02-94375058
Group Web Page: http://genomics.iit.it

What Are Chromosome Rearrangements?

Chromosome rearrangements are structural changes that alter the normal configuration of chromosomes. These changes can involve large segments of DNA — from thousands to millions of base pairs — and can occur spontaneously, be inherited, or result from exposure to mutagens (like radiation or chemicals).

Common Types of Rearrangements:

1. Deletions – Loss of a chromosome segment

2. Duplications – Repetition of a segment

3. Inversions – A segment breaks off, flips, and reattaches

4. Translocations – Segments exchange places between non-homologous chromosomes

5. Insertions – A segment is inserted into another part of the genome

These changes can disrupt genes directly or affect gene regulation, leading to disease.

How Do Chromosome Rearrangements Cause Disease?

The impact of a rearrangement depends on which genes are involved, how much DNA is affected, and when the rearrangement occurs (in development vs. adulthood). Here are some key mechanisms:

• Gene disruption: Breaking a gene can lead to loss of function or the creation of a non-functional protein.

• Gene fusion: Joining parts of two genes may form a novel hybrid gene with new functions (common in cancer).

• Dosage effects: Extra or missing gene copies can disturb the balance of gene expression.

• Position effects: Moving a gene to a new regulatory environment may silence or over-activate it.

Chromosome Rearrangements in Human Disease

1. Developmental Disorders

• Cri-du-chat syndrome: Caused by a deletion on chromosome 5p. Affected infants often have a high-pitched cry and intellectual disability.

• Williams syndrome: Results from a microdeletion on chromosome 7q, affecting genes related to cardiovascular and cognitive function.

2. Cancer

Cancer is perhaps the most striking example of disease caused by chromosome rearrangements.

• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML): Caused by a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22, forming the Philadelphia chromosome. This creates the BCR-ABL fusion gene, which drives uncontrolled cell growth.

• Burkitt lymphoma: Involves translocation of the MYC gene, leading to excessive cell division.

• Ewing sarcoma: A fusion of EWSR1 and FLI1 genes through translocation promotes tumor development.

3. Infertility and Miscarriages

Balanced rearrangements (like inversions or translocations) in carriers may not cause disease directly but can result in:

• Recurrent miscarriages

• Infertility

• Birth defects in offspring

Detecting Rearrangements

Thanks to modern genomics, chromosome rearrangements can now be detected with high precision using:

• Karyotyping – Classic method for detecting large rearrangements

• FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) – Uses fluorescent probes to target specific DNA sequences

• Array CGH (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) – Detects copy number changes across the genome

• Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) – Identifies even small or complex rearrangements at base-pair resolution

Looking Forward: The Future of Chromosome Medicine

Understanding chromosome rearrangements is now central to:

• Personalized medicine

• Genetic counseling

• Targeted therapies, especially in cancer (e.g., tyrosine kinase inhibitors for BCR-ABL fusion)

With the rise of long-read sequencing and single-cell genomics, even previously “invisible” rearrangements are being uncovered, offering new insights into both rare diseases and common conditions.

Final Thoughts

Chromosome rearrangements remind us that genetics isn't just about which genes we have — but where they are, how they're arranged, and when they're active. As our tools grow sharper, so does our ability to diagnose, understand, and treat diseases rooted in genomic architecture.

In a way, the genome is like a book not just defined by its words, but also by how the chapters are ordered. Rearranging them can create a new story — sometimes harmful, sometimes insightful — and understanding these changes is key to writing a healthier future.

The course topics will include theoretical and practical aspects in:
- Genomes comparisons,
- Evolutionary analyses (orthologs, paralogs and ancestral genomes
inference),
- RNAseq and Next Generation Sequencing (including algorithms, methods
and sequence mapping tools, data analyses and applications).

The course programme will be centred on theoretical presentations
followed by practical sessions. Practical sessions in a Linux
environment will involve Unix shell and Perl scripting. Participants
are assumed to be familiar with this environment.

A series of lectures delivered by prominent scientists on recent hot
topics in genome (Viruses, Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes) studies will be
included in the programme and future research perspectives will be
highlighted.

The topics that will be included in the course programme are similar
to those included in previously organized courses:http://www.pasteur.fr/~tekaia/BGA_courses.html

The course is aimed at motivated Ph.D students and Post-Doctoral
Researchers in Academic Institutions, with background in Mathematics,
Statistics, Biology or Computer Science and who are involved in
Bioinformatics and Genomes studies.

Selection of participants will be based on their background, running
research projects and on expressed motivations.
Selected students will have free accommodation and meals and are
expected to contribute with 200 euros and to pay for their travel
expenses.
All participants (students and invited speakers) will stay in the same
hotel.

Detailed indications are available on the course web site: http://events.embo.org/14-comparative-genomics/index.html

Candidates are advised to complete carefully the application form,
together with an abstract of at least one of their running projects, a
"one-page CV" and a personal Identity Picture (Photo).

The application deadline is March 14, 2014.

The organizers:
Menelaos Manoussakis, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece.
Evdokia Karagouni, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens - Greece.
Evie Melanitou, Institut Pasteur Paris - France.
Fredj Tekaia ( Institut Pasteur Paris France)
URL: http://www.pasteur.fr/~tekaia/BGA_courses.html

Date: 5 – 17 May, 2014.
More at http://events.embo.org/14-comparative-genomics/index.html
will take place in the ,

To address the challenges of describing and estimating virodiversity, a team of investigators from Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) and EcoHealth Alliance began in jungles of Bangladesh - home to the flying fox.

Reference:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/mammals-harbour-at-least-320000-new-viruses/articleshow/22253268.cms

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23932400

Reference

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131204132018.htm

Now a day, geneticists have developed a language of their own. They are pouring lots of money and energy to read the entire genomic text and understand the gods own code ATGC. It is somewhat fascinating, not only for geneticist but also for non-biologist to know that there are several conserved blocks in genome which remain conserved over hundreds of millions of years. There have been several researches on conserved blocks and non-conserved regions to understand the mechanism and importance of all these regions (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2675965/). The finding indicates conservation and rearrangements of certain evolutionary important genes play an important role in evolution/adaptive changes (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7424/abs/nature11622.html https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/8/8/2442/2198198/Novel-Insights-into-Chromosome-Evolution-in-Birds , http://science.sciencemag.org/content/346/6215/1311).

But the puzzle remains open, how to correctly define the synteny (presence of two or more genes on the same chromosome) and conserved synteny (presence of two or more genes on chromosome of each of the two species) on several genomes.

Figure: Image generated with Evolution Highway (EH) tool http://eh-demo.ncsa.illinois.edu/ 

Keeping the new approach to define conserved synteny in mind there have been various algorithms developed to identify the conserved homologous synteny blocks (HSB) amongst species. Some of them which were commonly used for synteny detections are:

SyntenyTracker ( http://www-app.igb.uiuc.edu/labs/lewin/donthu/Synteny_assign/html/),

SyntenyTracker was shown to be an efficient and accurate automated tool for defining HSBs using datasets that may contain minor errors resulting from limitations in map construction methodologies.

CoGe (http://genomevolution.org/CoGe/SynFind.pl )

Satsuma (http://evomics.org/learning/genomics/satsuma/)

Cinteny (http://cinteny.cchmc.org/) ,

Cinteny server can be used for finding regions syntenic across multiple genomes and measuring the extent of genome rearrangement using reversal distance as a measure.

OrthoCluster (http://krono.act.uji.es/noticias/orthocluster-a-new-tool-for-mining-syntenic-blocks)

A new tool for mining syntenic blocks in comparative genomics

SynMap (http://genomevolution.org/wiki/index.php/SynMap),

SyMAP (http://www.symapdb.org/)

SyMAP (Synteny Mapping and Analysis Program) v4.0 is an automated system for identifying and displaying genome synteny alignments. The genomes may be represented by sequenced chromosomes (pseudomolecules), by draft sequence contigs, or by FPC physical maps (with BAC-end or marker sequence).

http://genomevolution.org/CoGe/SynMap.pl

RegionMiner (http://www.genomatix.de/online_help/help_regionminer/orthologous.html)

SyntenyMiner is being developed as an application to visualize and interrogate comparisons among multiple complete genome sequences. http://syntenyminer.sourceforge.net/

AutoGRAPH ( http://autograph.genouest.org/),

AutoGRAPH is an integrated web server for multi-species comparative genomic analysis. It is designed for constructing and visualizing synteny maps between two or three species, determination and display of macrosynteny and microsynteny relationships among species, and for highlighting evolutionary breakpoints.

SynChro(http://www.lgm.upmc.fr/CHROnicle/SynChro.html)

SynChro is a tool designed to define conserved synteny blocks. It reconstructs synteny blocks between pairwise comparison of multiple genomes. The reconstructed synteny blocks may overlap each other, be included in one another or duplicated due to micro-rearrangements.

SyntenyView ( http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/dtucourse/cookbooks/nikob/exercises/gf1_output_5.html),

Ensembl 'SyntenyView' shows conservation of large-scale gene order between species pairs. A brief summary of the calculation method appears at the bottom of this help page.  The left of a 'SyntenyView' page displays a diagram of chromosomes with blocks of conserved synteny. The right of a page shows homology matches between individual genes within syntenic blocks.

SynBrowse ( http://www.synbrowse.org/),

SynBrowse (Synteny Browser) is a generic sequence comparison tool for visualizing genome alignments both within and between species. It is intended to help scientists study and analyze synteny, homologous genes and other conserved elements between sequences. This software is useful in studying genome duplication and evolution. It can also aid in identifying uncharacterized genes, putative regulatory elements and novel structural features of study species by comparing to a well annotated reference sequence, thus enabling genome curators to refine and edit annotations of species that have incomplete genome annotations.

Sibelia (http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.7941).

A comparative genomic tool: It assists biologists in analysing the genomic variations that correlate with pathogens, or the genomic changes that help microorganisms adapt in different environments. Sibelia will also be helpful for the evolutionary and genome rearrangement studies for multiple strains of microorganisms.

GSV (http://cas-bioinfo.cas.unt.edu/gsv/homepage.php)

Genome Synteny Viewer allows users to upload files which contain synteny regions between two or more genomes and interactively visualize the synteny between them. GSV also allows users to upload annotation files to visualize annotated regions in addition to synteny regions.

MicroSyn (http://www.lgm.upmc.fr/CHROnicle/SynChro.html)

MicroSyn software as a means of detecting microsynteny in adjacent genomic regions surrounding genes in gene families. MicroSyn searches for conserved, flanking colinear homologous gene pairs between two genomic fragments to determine the relationship between two members in a gene family.

SynOrth (http://synorth.genereg.net/)

Synorth [s n ôrth], named in combination of "synteny" and "ortholog", is designed for the study of evolutionary changes of genomic regulatory blocks (GRBs) in vertebrate genomes, and especially the changes following the whole-genome duplication in teleost fish, by tracing the ortholog genes gain and loss in ancient synteny blocks.

SyDiG (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21441096)

Uncovering Synteny in Distant Genomes.

MapSynteny  (http://www.automatizacionysistemas.com/download.html)

MapSynteny is a macro in MS Excel® able to create images to show the relationship between genetic maps and large sequences (scaffolds, chromosomes, BACs, etc.). Based on tab – delimited BLAST results and some formulas, a suitable image of syntenic relationships or physical mapping can be obtained. http://www.automatizacionysistemas.com/Poster_MapSynteny.pdf

One of the best synteny tutorial for beginer @ http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/synteny-inferring-ancestral-genomes-44022

Reference:

http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/synteny-inferring-ancestral-genomes-44022

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7424/full/nature11622.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synteny

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2675965/

.NET Bio

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/msr_er/archive/2011/10/18/microsoft-biology-foundation-evolves-into-new-toolkit-net-bio.aspx

A language-neutral bioinformatics toolkit built using the Microsoft 4.0 .NET Framework to help developers, researchers, and scientists.

AMPHORA ("AutoMated Phylogenomic infeRence Application")

http://wolbachia.biology.virginia.edu/WuLab/Software.html

Metagenomics analysis software

Anduril

http://www.anduril.org/anduril/site/

Component-based workflow framework for data analysis

Armadillo workflow platform

Tool for designing and executing phylogenetic workflows

AutoDock

http://autodock.scripps.edu/

suite of automated docking tools

Biochemical Algorithms Library (BALL)

http://www.ball-project.org/

C++ library and framework for molecular modeling and visualization designed for rapid prototyping

Bio4j

http://bio4j.com/

Bio4j is a bioinformatics platform and graph based database built around most data available in UniProt KB(Swiss-Prot + TrEMBL), Gene Ontology (GO), UniRef (50,90,100), RefSeq, NCBI taxonomy, and Expasy Enzyme DB

Bioclipse

www.bioclipse.net

Visual platform for chemo- and bioinformatics based on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP).

Bioconductor

http://www.bioconductor.org/

R (programming language) language toolkit

Bioinformatics Learning Tutorial (BLT)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/biotutorial/

Educational interactive tutorials and 3D animations for Replication, Transcription, and Translation

BioHaskell

http://biohaskell.org/

Haskell (programming language)

BioJava

http://biojava.org/wiki/Main_Page

Java (programming language)

BioMOBY

http://biomoby.org/

registry of web services

BioPerl

http://www.bioperl.org/wiki/Main_Page

Perl language toolkit

BioPHP

http://www.biophp.org/

PHP language toolkit

Biopython

http://biopython.org/wiki/Main_Page

Python language toolkit

BioRails

https://github.com/biorails

a data management system designed to support researchers in drug discovery

BioRuby

http://bioruby.org/

Ruby language toolkit

BioSmalltalk

https://code.google.com/p/biosmalltalk/

Smalltalk language toolkit

BioUno

http://www.biouno.org/

BioUno is a project that applies Continuous Integration tools and techniques in Bioinformatics. It uses Jenkins and its plug-in API to create biology workflows and manage computer clusters.

caCORE

ontologic representation environment

caArray

https://cabig-stage.nci.nih.gov/community/tools/caArray

ontologic representation environment

EMBOSS

http://emboss.sourceforge.net/

Suite of packages for sequencing, searching, etc.

Gaggle

https://www.gaggle.net/

A framework for interoperability between systems biology software

Galaxy

http://galaxyproject.org/

Scientific workflow and data integration system

GenePattern

http://www.broadinstitute.org/cancer/software/genepattern/

Scientific workflow system that provides access to more than 150 genomic analysis tools

GeWorkbench

http://wiki.c2b2.columbia.edu/workbench/index.php/Home

Genomic data integration platform

GMOD

http://www.gmod.org/wiki/Main_Page

Toolkit for addressing many common challenges at biological databases.

GeneProf

http://www.geneprof.org/GeneProf/

A web-based, bioinformatics software suite for the analysis of functional genomics experiments, e.g. RNA-seq or ChIP-seq.

GeneTalk

http://www.gene-talk.de/

Tool for filtering sequence variants in VCF files. Network for scientists and clinicians for expertise and knowledge exchange. Database of annotations aboute sequence variants with clinically relevant information.

GenGIS

http://kiwi.cs.dal.ca/GenGIS/Main_Page

Application that allows users to combine digital map data with information about biological sequences collected from the environment.

GenomeSpace

http://www.genomespace.org/

Centralized web application that provides data format transformations and facilitates connections with other bioinformatics tools

GENtle

http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/GENtle

An equivalent to the proprietary Vector NTI, a tool to analyze and edit DNA sequence files

Integrated Genome Browser

http://bioviz.org/igb/

Java-based desktop genome browser

Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV)

http://www.broadinstitute.org/igv/

High-performance desktop tool for interactive visual exploration of diverse genomic data

IntAct

http://www.ebi.ac.uk/intact/

molecular interaction database

InterMine

http://intermine.github.io/intermine.org/

Extensive data warehouse system for the analysis and integration of biological datasets

Java Treeview

http://jtreeview.sourceforge.net/

microarray data viewer

LabKey Server

http://labkey.com/

platform for integrating, analyzing and sharing data

OpenClinica

https://www.openclinica.com/

software for capturing and managing data in clinical trials

PromKappa

http://xbioinformatics.wordpress.com/tag/promkappa/

PromKappa (Promoter analysis by Kappa) software program used for promoter pattern generation and promoter analysis.

MeV: Multi-Experiment Viewer

http://www.tm4.org/mev.html

a desktop application for the analysis, visualization and data-mining of large-scale genomic data

PathVisio

http://www.pathvisio.org/

a desktop software for drawing, analysis and visualization of biological pathways

REDCRAFT

software for determining tertiary protein structure given assigned Residual Dipolar Coupling data

SAM Tools

Data format (SAM) and accompanying tool suite, for storing large nucleotide sequence alignments

Staden Package

Sequence assembly, editing and analysis, primarily consisting of gap4, gap5 and spin.

STAMP

Software package for analyzing metagenomic profiles that promotes ‘best practices’ in choosing appropriate statistical techniques and reporting results.

supraHex

An open-source R/Bioconductor package for omics data analysis using a supra-hexagonal map

Taverna workbench

Tool for designing and executing workflows

TGAC Browser

Genome Browser, visualisation solutions for big data in the genomic era

T-REX WebServer

Bioinformatics and phylogenetics webserver (NJ, PhyML, RAxML, MAFFT, MUSCLE, Newick viewer, Horizontal gene transfer detection, Reticulograms, Substitution models)

UGENE

integrated bioinformatics tools

Visomics

bioinformatics tools for omics data

Genome Analysis Toolkit 1.0 (GATK 1.0)

a software package to analyse next-generation resequencing data