Computation and Informatics in Biology and Medicine

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose a bioinformatics training program for 16 pre and 4 postdoctoral students per year focused in the departments of Computer Sciences, Biochemistry, Statistics, and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin. Computer scientists with knowledge of biology will join biologists with strong quantitative backgrounds, in a cross-disciplinary approach, with each student having a major and a minor mentor. We will build on a history of computation/biomedical collaborations, which over the years have trained several leaders of the current generation of bioinformaticists. Students with strong quantitative skills and an interest in biology will be recruited mainly from applicant pools of primary and associated departments. Training will be rigorous but tailored to the students' needs and interests. New courses in bioinformatics and genomics recently started by trainers will be an integral part of the training, but close project-oriented mentoring by trainers will form the core training experience for the student. Predoc support of three years and postdoc support for two years is proposed. The P.D., Professor George Phillips, recently served as Scientific & Training Director of the NLM-supported Keck Center for Computational Biology at Rice University, and brings a wealth of experience with the type of training program envisaged. The Co-P.D.'s, Jude Shavlik, Professor of Computer Sciences, and Fred Blattner, Professor of Genetics, have for many years participated in cross disciplinary training in bioinformatics on campus and, through their strong network of interconnected associations at U.W. Madison, will help to firmly anchor and balance the program in its biological and computational aspects. Administration will be through the Genome Center/Biotechnology Center with the able financial/administrative skills of Deborah Faupel and the educational/administrative skills of Dr. Louise Pape, who is a sensitive student adviser, researcher and teacher. Computer assets of the Sun Center of Excellence in Genome Computing, the Condor "grid computing" resource including hundreds of workstations, the advanced chip facility, and the DNA sequencing facility located in the Genome Center will provide core resources. A new building housing the Genome Center is being constructed.