Center for Computational Study of Biological Systems

描述(由申请人提供)：NPEBC(国家生物计算卓越计划计划拨款)前期的广泛研究目标如下：A)让计算生物学家参与使用新的可用基因组技术的新实验的设计；B)开发管理大量和不同类型的数据的方法，开发能够利用同一生物系统上的多种类型信息的分析方法；C)开发新的计算方法来分析功能基因组数据--将在计算中积极利用现有生物学知识的方法D)实施健壮且免费可用的软件工具来支持这些活动，并促进向科学界广泛分发有用的数据资源和分析方法。 我们将组成一个由来自哈佛大学几个学院的研究人员组成的多学科团队，在三个具体科学领域的背景下研究这些问题，哺乳动物细胞信号，遗传不稳定性在进化中的作用，以及开发新的计算生物学工具。将有三个开发项目：1)功能基因组学和生物信息学方法研究RAS信号，2)基因组不稳定性和进化，3)功能基因组学软件环境。 在本次NPEBC预科期间，我们还将建立NPEBC的组织结构、计算生物学的研究所研讨会系列和访客项目，并加强计算生物学研究生项目的课程设置和扩大招生规模，最终建立计算生物学博士学位项目。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The broad research goals of this Pre-NPEBC (Planning grant for National Program of Excellence in Biocomputing) are as follows A) Involving computational biologists in the design of novel experiments employing newly available genomic technologies B) The development of methods to manage the large amount and diverse types of data, to develop analysis methods capable of utilization of multiple types information on the same biological system C) The development of novel computational approaches to analyze functional genomics data -- approaches that will actively utilize existing biological knowledge in the computation D) The implementation of robust and freely available software tools to support these activities, and facilitate wide distribution of useful data resources and analytical methods to the scientific community. We will form a multidisciplinary team composing of investigators from several schools across Harvard University, to study these issues in the context of three specific scientific areas mammalian cell signaling, the role of genetic instability in evolution, and developing new tools for computational biology There will be three Developmental Projects 1) functional genomics and bioinformatics approach to RAS signaling, 2) genome instability and evolution, 3) software environment for functional genomics. During the course of this Pre-NPEBC, we will also establish the organizational structure of the NPEBC, institute seminar series and visitor program in computational biology, and enhance the curriculum and expand the enrollment of the computational biology graduate program with the aim of eventually establishing a PhD degree program in Computational Biology.