Rare target detection with statistical learning methods: drug discovery, functional genomics and proteomics

我建议的研究将集中在一个重要的和相对较新的一类学习问题的数据挖掘，我将称为“罕见的目标检测问题。“基本目标是从非常大的数据库中检测属于罕见但重要类别的项目。常见的应用包括药物发现，欺诈检测，直接营销，以及在生物信息学的新兴学科，如功能基因组学和蛋白质组学的问题。例如，在功能基因组学中，我们通常对发现与特定生物功能相关的几个基因感兴趣;在药物发现中，我们对识别能够抑制某种蛋白质的几种化合物（从成千上万的候选物中）感兴趣。解决这类问题的精确高效的算法将对科学技术的进步产生重大而广泛的影响。我的目标是：更好地理解稀有目标检测问题的统计性质，开发有效和高效的学习算法来解决它;应用这些算法来解决各种现实世界的稀有目标检测问题，并促进这些和其他学习算法在应用研究中的使用。最近，我与一名研究生和一名同事合作，发明了一种新颖而有效的检测算法，称为LAGO。在开发LAGO的过程中，我还制定了一个系统的框架，作为进一步研究的基础。本提案中概述的研究计划建立在这一基础上，旨在深化和扩大其影响。

My proposed research will concentrate on an important and relatively new class of learning problems in data mining that I shall refer to as "rare target detection problems." The underlying objective is to detect items belonging to a rare but important class from very large databases. Common applications include drug discovery, fraud detection, direct marketing, as well as problems in the newly emerged disciplines of bioinformatics such as functional genomics and proteomics. For example, in functional genomics, we are often interested in finding a few genes that are associated with a particular biological function; in drug discovery, we are interested in identifying a few chemical compounds (from amongst tens of thousands of candidates) that are capable of inhibiting a certain protein. Accurate and efficient algorithms for solving such problems will have a significant and broad impact on the advancement of science and technology. My objectives are: to better understand the statistical nature of the rare target detection problem, to develop effective and efficient learning algorithms for solving it; to apply these algorithms to solve various real-world rare target detection problems and to promote the use of these and other learning algorithms in applied research. Recently, working with a graduate student and a colleague, I have invented a novel and efficient detection algorithm called LAGO. In developing LAGO,  I have also laid out a systematic framework as a foundation for further research. The research program outlined in this proposal is built on this foundation and aimed at deepening and broadening its impact.