Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology for FY 2009

这一行动利用2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)的资金，为2009财年国家科学基金会博士后研究奖学金提供资金。这项培训和发展计划的标题是“超越人类基因组：表观基因组数据集的综合分析”。这项研究的主办机构是马诺利斯·凯利斯赞助的麻省理工学院和布拉德利·伯恩斯坦赞助的布罗德研究所。人类基因组的DNA序列在不同类型的细胞中几乎没有变化，但细胞可以在行为和功能上表现出非凡的多样性。其他被称为表观遗传因素的因素也是造成不同细胞类型差异的原因。技术进步使得在基因组中绘制多种细胞类型的表观遗传因子图谱成为可能，然而，为了系统地解释这些数据，需要新的计算方法。这项研究是关于这种工具的开发，特别是识别表观遗传修饰的重要组合的概率模型。此外，这项研究集中于利用大规模基因组和表观基因组数据来表征它们的功能。培训目标包括获得表观遗传学和表观基因组学生物学方面的专业知识，以及基因组学和基因调控的相关领域。在计算方面，培训将侧重于机器学习方法。由此产生的软件将在生物界广泛传播。Jason Ernst还在与当地高中生开展教育推广活动，以提高人们对计算机科学和生物学交界处的就业机会的认识。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009 using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The training and development plan is entitled "Beyond the human genome: integrative analysis of epigenomic datasets" for Jason Ernst. The host institution for this research is Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the sponsorship of Manolis Kellis and the Broad Institute under the sponsorship of Bradley Bernstein.The DNA sequence of the human genome is virtually unchanged across different cell types, yet cells can display extraordinary diversity in their behavior and function. Other factors, known as epigenetic factors, are responsible for observed differences across cell types. Technological advances have enabled the mapping of epigenetic factors in multiple cell types across the genome, yet in order to systematically interpret these data, new computational methods are needed. This research is on the development of such tools, specifically, probabilistic models for identifying important combinations of epigenetic modifications. Additionally this research focuses on the characterization of their function using large-scale genomic and epigenomic datasets.Training objectives include gaining expertise on the biological aspects of epigenetics and epigenomics, as well as related areas of genomics and gene regulation. On the computational side, training will focus on machine learning methods. The resulting software will be broadly disseminated in the biological community. Jason Ernst is also conducting educational outreach activities with local high school students to raise awareness of career opportunities at the interface of computer science and biology.