BOL: Related items

Bioinformatics Head (Bioinformatics Manager III), Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory at Frederick National Laboratory

Wed, 18 Aug 2021 00:19:48 -0500

Frederick National Laboratory seeking an enthusiastic, creative, and seasoned bioinformatics professional to join our leadership team and direct the exceptional Bioinformatics Group at the Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory (CGR). CGR has a diverse team of bioinformatics and computational scientists that support all areas of bioinformatics and data analysis (infrastructure, data QC, pipeline development and maintenance, data curation and sharing, methodology development, statistical analyses, machine learning approaches, and scientific interpretation).

More at https://leidosbiomed.csod.com/ats/careersite/jobdetails.aspx?site=4&c=leidosbiomed&id=2040

India and Germany to begin joint research in the area of 'Bioinformatics in Health Research'

Rahul Nayak — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:10:36 -0600

To facilitate bilateral cooperation in biotechnology between the scientific communities of India and Germany, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) will soon begin collaborative research in the identified priority area of 'Bioinformatics in Health Research' under the programme of Indo-German Cooperation in Health Research.

The purpose of the programme is to stimulate new collaborations, e.g. the preparation of joint projects under national funding programmes. The programme facilitates bilateral cooperation in biotechnology between the scientific communities of India and Germany by way of joint research projects which will encompass bilateral workshops/seminar and exchange visits of scientists.

The programme is being implemented within the agreement of Indo-German cooperation in S&T of 1974, under which the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Forschungszentrum Julich BMBH (FZJ), Federal Republic of Germany, have agreed for cooperative programme in biotechnology.

DBT of the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India and the Project Management Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR-PT, European and International Cooperation), Bonn are the nodal implementing agencies from the Indian and German side respectively.

Through this programme, it is expected that the funded cooperation enables the partners to develop applicable scientific results which can be published and/ or could be commercialised and may lead to formation of joint ventures. All publications, patents coming out of these projects, need to be jointly authored by both Indian and German scientists. All necessary approvals like ethical clearance, HMSC approval from Indian point of view as well as EU, if applicable, from German point of view, e.g. before conducting animal experimentation if any needs to be obtained by PIs before undertaking the project.

Now, both the nodal agencies have invited research proposals in identified priority area of 'Bioinformatics in Health Research' from eligible scientists. Joint research projects are required to be submitted to both the nodal agencies by 15 January 2018. Scientists/faculty members working in regular capacity in universities, national R&D laboratories/institutes and private R&D institutes can be part of this joint research programme. For the private sector, partners from all kind of private sectors are eligible, but financing is limited. For Indian scientists from the private sector, only local hospitality in Germany as part of the exchange visit is available from the German side. For German scientists from the private sector, only travel costs are available for small and medium size enterprises (for definition of SME ref. to 2003/361/EC) as well as local hospitality in India will be borne by themselves.

Research Associate Bioinformatics in IISc Recruitment 2020

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 21:53:34 -0500

Research Associate Bioinformatics in IISc Recruitment 2020

Essential Qualifications: Ph.D. (Bioinformatics/ Biophysics/ Biotechnology or any other stream of biological/ physical sciences) with a minimum of two publications in reputed peer reviewed journals in the area of structural bioinformatics or biophysics or biomolecular modeling/ simulation.

Job description: Development of bioinformatics tools and algorithms/software for structure based analysis of biomolecular systems. Programmatic access to major biomolecular databases using APIs Knowledge based prediction and analysis of biomolecular structure, function and interactions. Docking/simulations for inhibitor design.

Desirable Qualifications (Research Associate/s): i) Strong computer programming skills (in Python/PERL/PHP or C++ or object oriented database management systems like MySQL etc or scripting languages under LINUX/UNIX environment).

ii) Extensive experience in computational analysis of biomolecular structure/interactions and usage of advanced biomolecular simulation softwares. iii) Adequate knowledge of major databases, webservers and softwares in the area of biomolecular structure/function and drug design. iv) Familiarity with Parallel Programming environments and experience in usage of high-end HPC clusters.

The candidates must highlight their experience in above mentioned fields/topics in their CV. Initial appointment will be for a period of 1 year, subject to extension after review of performance.

Emoluments: As per DST, GOI norms and commensurate with experience.

More at https://www.iisc.ac.in/positions-open/

PhD positions in Genova at DIBRIS - Univ. of Genoa, Italy

Thu, 18 May 2017 00:04:07 -0500

PhD positions in Genova at DIBRIS - Univ. of Genoa (Italy)

http://www.disi.unige.it/person/MasulliF/ricerca/PhDinGenova2017.html

The call for some funded positions for the 3 years PhD studies at the Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and System Engineering (DIBRIS) in Genova is available at

http://www.studenti.unige.it/postlaurea/dottorati/XXXIII/ENG/

The deadline for applications is June13, 2017 and the PhD courses and fellowships should start on Nov 2017.

Details for the application to the PhD Program in Computer Science and Systems Engineering (CODICE 6608) are at http://phd.dibris.unige.it/csse/index.php/how-to-apply

The research activity of my research group is focused on Computational Intelligence, Machine Learning, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, and Positive Technology as described at http://www.disi.unige.it/person/MasulliF/ricerca/index.html

The research themes proposed by me and Prof. Stefano Rovetta are:

- Computational Intelligence and Machine Learning (see http://www.disi.unige.it/person/MasulliF/ricerca/Phd2017-T1.html)

- Computational Intelligence and Health and Wellbeing Support( see http://www.disi.unige.it/person/MasulliF/ricerca/Phd2017-T3.html)

You can also propose a different research theme belonging to the research activity of my group.

Looking for self-motivated PhD candidates, interested to the mathematical aspects of their research and to the development of new algorithms for intelligent data analysis, and skilled in programming and in thorough experimental data analysis. They will be part of my research group and will collaborate to our research projects and publications.

Italian and international students interested to work are invited to send their cv and the name/email-addresses of 3 referees to my email address francesco.masulli@unige.it A.S.A.P.

Bioinformatics -- Understanding of living systems through information science

Wed, 14 Aug 2013 11:50:17 -0500

Recently, the progress of the Human Genome Project, aiming to decode all human DNA sequences, has highlighted a research field called bioinformatics. In this new field, computers and techniques from information science are not just used as tools to advance life science research; they're expected to have a major impact on how we think about the life sciences. Q. The main feature of bioinformatics is, it utilizes computers to analyze life. One is example is the genome. In all organisms, DNA contains genetic information, and this is called the genome. But the amount of information involved is huge, so recently, it's been read using next-generation sequencers, and analyzed by computers. In bioinformatics research, what we do is utilize those genome information to investigate the principles of life. As an organism evolves, its genome sequence changes through sudden mutations. Additionally, at the genome level, mutations called rearrangements, such as inversions, transpositions, and duplications, occur. The genome comparison system developed by the Sakakibara Lab calculates homologous sequences called anchors, which are conserved between species. If the genome is considered as a long text, then anchors can be thought of as words. Q. We're coming to understand the genomes of various organisms - not just humans, but monkeys, chimpanzees, bacteria, and so on. The first method used to analyze a genome is comparing it with the genomes of other organisms, to see where it's the same and where it's different. In that way, the content of the genome is decoded bit by bit, using computers. By contrast, in our method, we've developed software called Murasaki, which we also use to analyze large genomes, by comparing them with those of other organisms. The Sakakibara Lab uses a next-generation sequencer at Keio University, along with a cluster machine with hundreds of CPUs. In this way, the Lab is analyzing genome mutations that cause cancer, and the genome of the natto production strain Bacillus subtilis. Until now, genome analysis could only be done in national-scale projects. But now, next-generation sequencer development has made genome analysis possible in an ordinary lab. In a world-first achievement, the Sakakibara Lab has decoded the natto bacillus genome, through analysis using Keio's next-generation sequencer. Q. In the future, biology and the life sciences may become almost entirely information science and computer science. And in healthcare, that may enable us, for example, to predict whether individuals are susceptible to cancer, or to certain lifestyle-related diseases, by understanding their personal genome data. So, I think it's amply possible that we can make use of such information effectively, to help people live longer and be free from disease, by thinking about their lifestyle habits. Bioinformatics is only two decades old. In this field, many areas are still unknown. Professor Sakakibara, having been involved since the beginning, will continue tackling new, challenging research projects.

What is Bioinformatics?

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 06:53:05 -0500

Illustration and Animation: Rachel Robinson Script: Tiffany Trent Voice-over: Kris Monger Sound: Glisten Carefully by Guennadi Malyshevski

Bioinformatics Scientist/Research Software Engineer at University of Dundee Dundee, United Kingdom

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 10:31:25 -0500

We are recruiting for an exceptional individual to join us as a computational scientist, bioinformatician, or (research) software engineer with an interest in interactive data analysis platforms for biology and medicine within our Jalview (www.jalview.org) research software engineering team.

More at https://www.jobs.dundee.ac.uk/fe/tpl_uod01.asp?s=4A515F4E5A565B1A&jobid=104342,2382988671&key=147934117&c=99413415238921&pagestamp=sesxbbuyifokdsfygf

Last date: 30th August 2020

Informal enquiries about this position may be made to Prof. Geoff Barton (gjbarton@dundee.ac.uk) or Dr Jim Procter (jprocter@dundee.ac.uk). To find out more about Jalview research software engineering team please visit www.jalview.org and www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk

Mathivanan Lab

Fri, 20 Sep 2013 13:09:38 -0500

The major research interests are in exploring the role of extracellular matrix components (soluble secreted proteins and membrane vesicles) in cancer and intercellular communication. The lab integrates proteomic, genomic and bioinformatics methodologies to explore cancer cells.

More at http://www.mathivananlab.org/index.html

http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=U6PyEdYAAAAJ&hl=en

Mycology Research Resources for Bioinformaticians: Unlocking the Fungal Kingdom

Neel — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 11:21:45 -0600

Mycology, the study of fungi, is a field that bridges ecology, medicine, and biotechnology. With advancements in bioinformatics, researchers now have unprecedented opportunities to explore the fungal kingdom at molecular, genetic, and ecological levels. From understanding pathogenic fungi to harnessing fungal enzymes for industrial applications, the potential is vast.

To fully leverage these opportunities, bioinformaticians require specialized tools and databases. This blog highlights essential resources for mycology research, focusing on databases, tools, and platforms tailored for fungal biology.

1. Fungal Databases

1.1. MycoCosm

Website: MycoCosm
Developed by the DOE Joint Genome Institute, MycoCosm is a comprehensive portal for fungal genomics. It offers genomic and transcriptomic data for a wide range of fungi, including saprobes, pathogens, and symbionts.

Key Features: Genome browsers, comparative genomics tools, and functional annotations.
Best For: Large-scale studies on fungal evolution and ecology.

1.2. FungiDB

Website: FungiDB
FungiDB is an integrated genomic resource for fungal pathogens and non-pathogens. It provides access to genome sequences, transcriptomic data, and functional annotations.

Key Features: Advanced search options, BLAST, and pathway analysis tools.
Best For: Studying fungal pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions.

1.3. Index Fungorum

Website: Index Fungorum
This nomenclatural database provides information on the scientific names of fungi. It’s an essential resource for taxonomists and researchers focused on fungal biodiversity.

Key Features: Taxonomic hierarchy and synonymy tracking.
Best For: Identifying and classifying fungal species.

1.4. UNITE

Website: UNITE
UNITE is a specialized database for fungal ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) sequences, often used in fungal identification and phylogenetics.

Key Features: Curated reference datasets and community annotations.
Best For: Environmental mycology and microbial ecology studies.

2. Analytical Tools

2.1. Funannotate

Repository: GitHub - Funannotate
Funannotate is a genome annotation tool designed for fungi. It supports tasks like gene prediction, functional annotation, and orthology analysis.

Best For: Annotating newly sequenced fungal genomes.

2.2. BUSCO (Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs)

Website: BUSCO
BUSCO evaluates genome assembly and annotation completeness using orthologs. It includes a fungal-specific dataset.

Best For: Assessing the quality of fungal genome assemblies.

2.3. Pathogen-Host Interactions Database (PHI-base)

Website: PHI-base
PHI-base is a manually curated resource containing information on pathogen-host interactions, including fungal pathogens.

Best For: Exploring virulence factors and host-pathogen relationships.

3. Visualization Platforms

3.1. Cytoscape

Website: Cytoscape
A powerful tool for visualizing molecular interaction networks, Cytoscape can be used to study protein-protein interactions, gene networks, and metabolic pathways in fungi.

Best For: Network biology and functional genomics.

3.2. iTOL (Interactive Tree of Life)

Website: iTOL
iTOL is an interactive tool for visualizing phylogenetic trees.

Best For: Displaying fungal phylogenies and comparing evolutionary relationships.

4. Community Resources

4.1. Mycological Society of America (MSA)

Website: MSA
The MSA promotes fungal research and provides access to resources, conferences, and publications.

Best For: Networking with fungal researchers and accessing recent studies.

4.2. OpenFungi

Website: OpenFungi
OpenFungi is an open-source initiative providing fungal genomic and transcriptomic datasets for research and education.

Best For: Sharing and accessing public fungal datasets.

5. Genomics Workflows

5.1. Galaxy

Website: Galaxy Project
Galaxy offers a web-based platform for reproducible bioinformatics workflows, including tools for fungal genome and transcriptome analysis.

Best For: User-friendly analysis pipelines without requiring coding skills.

5.2. Snakemake

Repository: Snakemake
A flexible pipeline management tool that supports fungal data processing and analysis.

Best For: Custom workflows for large-scale fungal datasets.

Conclusion

Fungal research is a rapidly growing field with vast implications for medicine, agriculture, and industry. For bioinformaticians, the availability of specialized resources—databases, tools, and community platforms—opens doors to innovative discoveries. Whether you are investigating fungal genomics, studying host-pathogen interactions, or exploring fungal biodiversity, the resources outlined above will empower your research journey.

Dive into these resources and help unravel the mysteries of the fungal kingdom!

From Genes to Algorithms: The AI Revolution in Bioinformatics

Jitendra Narayan — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:23:40 -0500

Imagine waking up to a message from your doctor saying your genetic profile has been analyzed and a small change in your DNA has been found that could raise your risk for a certain disease. Instead of being alarmed, you learn that the condition was caught early and your genetic information can help doctors find treatments that might work better for you. Not long ago, this would have seemed like science fiction. But thanks to the rapid progress of artificial intelligence (AI) and bioinformatics, it is becoming more realistic. Bioinformatics brings together biology, computer science, mathematics, and statistics to collect, manage, and analyze biological data. As new technologies produce huge amounts of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and clinical data, traditional methods often cannot keep up. AI is now playing a bigger role in bioinformatics, helping researchers find patterns, make predictions, and understand biological systems in ways that were once out of reach.

Modern sequencing technologies have turned biology into a data-heavy science. The human genome has about three billion DNA base pairs, and sequencing can produce massive datasets quickly. Bioinformatics helps organize and interpret this information, allowing scientists to compare genomes, find genes, spot genetic differences, study gene expression, and understand diseases at the molecular level. Now, AI is changing how these datasets are analyzed. Machine learning and deep learning can find complex patterns in biological data and make predictions using large datasets. Rather than following only set rules, AI systems can learn from data and help researchers solve tough biological problems.

A key example of AI in bioinformatics is predicting protein structures. Proteins are vital for many functions in living things, and their three-dimensional shapes are closely tied to what they do. For a long time, figuring out these structures in the lab was slow and difficult. AI-based tools like AlphaFold have shown that deep learning can predict protein structures with impressive accuracy. These advances help speed up biological research and give scientists useful predictions to support their experiments. This shift means bioinformatics is moving from just analyzing biological data to predicting how biology works and designing new solutions.

AI is also expected to greatly influence drug discovery. Traditionally, developing a new drug is a long and costly process that involves finding biological targets, searching for possible drug molecules, testing how well they work, studying their properties, and running many experiments. AI can help researchers analyze large chemical and biological datasets, predict how molecules might interact with targets, find promising compounds, and estimate properties of drug candidates. Generative AI can even help design new molecules to test in the lab. This does not mean lab experiments will go away, but AI can help researchers focus on the best options and possibly speed up some parts of drug development.

Personalized medicine is another area where AI-driven bioinformatics could make a big difference. Each person has a unique mix of genetic, molecular, environmental, and lifestyle factors, so people with the same disease might respond differently to the same treatment. Bioinformatics lets researchers study individual biological data, and AI can combine many types of information, like genetic data, gene expression, protein levels, medical images, clinical records, and drug responses. In the future, this could help doctors look beyond just the disease and focus on the specific biology of each patient. This would support more personalized ways to diagnose, assess risk, and choose treatments.

As AI becomes more common, the job of bioinformaticians will likely change. Instead of spending most of their time on repetitive computer tasks, they may focus more on creating research questions, understanding AI results, checking predictions, and linking computer findings to lab experiments. Future professionals will need to know about molecular biology, genetics, statistics, programming, machine learning, data science, databases, and computational biology. But technical skills alone will not be enough. Being able to ask good scientific questions and carefully judge computer results will be even more important, since AI can make predictions, but scientists must decide if those predictions make sense and can be proven in the lab.

Even with its great potential, using AI in bioinformatics comes with big challenges. AI systems rely on the quality and variety of the data they are trained on. Biological and clinical datasets can have missing information, technical errors, inconsistent measurements, and may not represent all groups equally. A model that works well on one dataset might not work as well on another group or in a different setting. That is why data quality, proper validation, transparency, reproducibility, and careful model development are crucial for the future of AI in bioinformatics. Researchers also need to think about genetic privacy, data ownership, security, and using personal biological information responsibly. These concerns are especially important when AI predictions are used in healthcare.

The lab of the future may look very different from today’s. Researchers might use AI to review scientific papers, find research questions, analyze large datasets, come up with ideas, and predict which experiments will be most helpful. Automated lab systems could then run these experiments, create new data, and send the results back to computer models. This would create a cycle of making guesses, predicting, experimenting, collecting data, and learning. This approach could speed up scientific discovery by helping researchers explore questions more efficiently. Bioinformatics could become a key link between computer predictions and real lab experiments.

In the end, the future of bioinformatics with AI will not be about replacing people with machines. It will be about humans and AI working together. Computers can handle huge amounts of biological data and spot patterns that a single person could not. But humans bring scientific understanding, creativity, critical thinking, ethical judgment, and the ability to see the bigger picture. AI might find a pattern in millions of genomes, but scientists need to figure out why it matters. An AI model could suggest a new drug, but researchers must check if it is safe and works well. A computer might find a genetic change, but doctors have to decide what it means for a real patient.

The future of bioinformatics is closely tied to the future of AI. As biological data grows and AI models get better, bioinformatics may shift from mainly analyzing data to predicting biological processes, designing new molecules, speeding up experiments, and supporting personalized healthcare. For students and researchers, this is an exciting chance to work where biology and technology meet. The most successful people will not just be those who use the latest AI tools, but those who understand biology well enough to ask good questions and judge the answers carefully. The future will not be about AI versus humans, but about people and AI working together to understand life in ways we never could before. The next big discovery may come from this partnership between a biological question, a computer model, a lab experiment, and human curiosity.