Neuroinformatics for genes, transcriptomes and cells

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

I am requesting funding to support my bioinformatics research program focused on analysis of the genomics and other data, targeted at understanding the mammalian nervous system at the level of genes, physiology and structure, and how this relates to brain development, normal brain function, aging, and pathological processes. My research program has several interconnected aspects:***1. The development of databases, methods and software to support the interpretation of gene expression patterns, in the context of other sources of information such as neuroanatomy and cell types. The flagship of this effort is “Gemma” (gemma.chibi.ubc.ca).***2. Meta-analyses of gene expression patterns in the brain: We are using numerous genome-wide expression data sets from public and other sources to increase the power to find genes related to specific processes or pathologies, and to predict gene function.***3. Development and analysis of databases of neuronal connectivity and neurophysiology, using biomedical text analysis supported by manual curation. Our database of cellular electrophysiological properties, NeuroElectro (neuroelectro.org) is one focus of the current proposal.***4. Integration and analysis of information from genomics studies with data on electrophysiology, disease phenotypes, cell types and connectivity. Our goal is to improve understanding of how gene expression patterns relate to brain structure and function.***My research program is unique in Canada in focusing on application of bioinformatics methods to the understanding of the nervous system, using a range of methods from functional genomics, genetics, biomedical text, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. We maintain a large number of wet-lab collaborations which extend and enhance our efforts. Applications include improving basic understanding of brain function, as well as the etiology of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental diseases affecting humans. All of our resources are made available to the public.***This proposal is a renewal. The NSERC Discovery award would be used to fund the training of graduate students and undergraduates working on aspects of the text-mining and integrative aspects of this program (goals 3 and 4 listed above) and expression analysis methods (goals 1 and 2 above).