Bioinformatics Tools for Genomics and Proteomics Research

生物体的基因组由它的全套DNA组成。基因组学涉及对基因组序列和功能的理解。DNA编码所有生物发育和功能的遗传指令，包括蛋白质的产生。蛋白质组学研究所有蛋白质的结构和功能。蛋白质通常通过与其他蛋白质相互作用来发挥功能。***获得人类基因组序列的可能性为癌症研究、遗传疾病、疾病控制、个性化医疗等开辟了前所未有的可能性。测序技术使基因组测序的成本不断降低，但处理和分析大量数据是通过不断发展的算法和软件程序实现的。我的研究项目正在进行的主要目标是开发先进的算法和工具，这些算法和工具对分析这些大数据至关重要，以揭示DNA和蛋白质的结构和功能的基本方面。短期目标包括改进DNA测序数据的错误校正、基因组和宏基因组组装、基因组变异检测、全基因组平铺、蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用（PPI）预测以及PPI网络的对齐。***这些生物信息学工具将影响生物和健康科学的许多应用，使这些领域的发现进程得以实现和加速，有助于改善加拿大人的健康。用于构建此类工具的原创和创新思想也将有助于推进计算机科学几个领域的知识。***提出的研究目标包括在跨学科和协作的环境中进行有效的HQP培训

The genome of an organism consists of the complete set of its DNA. Genomics concerns the understanding of the genome sequence and functions. DNA encodes the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of all organisms, including the production of proteins. Proteomics studies the structure and functions of all proteins. Proteins usually perform their functions by interacting with other proteins. ***The possibility of obtaining the sequence of the human genome opened unprecedented possibilities for cancer research, genetic disorders, disease control, personalized medicine, etc. Sequencing technologies enable sequencing of genomes at ever decreasing costs but processing and analyzing huge amounts of data is made possible by continuously evolving algorithms and software programs. The ongoing main objective of my research program is the development of advanced algorithms and tools critical in analyzing such big data to uncover essential aspects of the structure and function of DNA and proteins. Short term objectives include improvements in error correction of DNA sequencing data, genome and metagenome assembly, genomic variation detection, whole genome tiling, protein-protein interaction (PPI) prediction, and alignment of PPI networks. ***These bioinformatics tools will impact many applications in biological and health sciences by enabling and accelerating the discovery process in these areas, helping to improve the health of Canadians. Original and innovative ideas used for building such tools will help advancing the knowledge in several areas of Computer Science as well. ***The research objectives proposed involve effective HQP training in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.**