Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Our researchers work on core computational biology-related problems, including genomics, proteomics, metagenomics, and phylogenomics. We develop novel techniques that combine ideas from mathematics, computer science, probability, statistics, and physics, and we help identify and formalize computational challenges in the biological domain, while experimentally validating novel hypotheses generated by our analyses.
We are developing algorithms with improved accuracy for large-scale and complex estimation problems in phylogenomics (genome-scale phylogeny estimation), multiple sequence alignment, and metagenomics. We are exploring gene regulation—developing advanced techniques to predict the diverse function of noncoding parts of DNA and to relate interspecies and interpersonal differences in DNA to differences in the organism’s form and function. We work broadly in the development of machine learning techniques for computational biology, with research spanning the areas of molecular and structural biology; networks and systems biology; and molecular mechanisms of human disease.
CS Faculty and Their Research Interests
| Jiawei Han | data mining for genomics and medical informatics |
| Jian Peng | bioinformatics, protein function & structure, systems biology, machine learning and optimization |
| Saurabh Sinha | bioinformatics, gene regulation, comparative genomics, sequence analysis |
| Tandy Warnow | bioinformatics, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenomics, metagenomics, and historical linguistics |
| ChengXiang Zhai | information retrieval, natural language processing for medical informatics |
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Research Efforts and Groups
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB)
- Comp-Gen Initiative in the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
- KnowEnG, an NIH Center for Excellence for Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) in the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
- National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Research News
Parameswaran, Peng win NSF CAREER Awards
May 11, 2017 Assistant Professors Aditya Parameswaran and Jian Peng have each received a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to support their research.
Warnow elected 2017 International Society for Computational Biology Fellow
February 13, 2017 Tandy Warnow is one of eight international scientists recognized for contributions to advancing the understanding of living systems through computation.
Tool to map gene's ‘social network’ sheds light on function, interactions and drug efficacy
January 19, 2017 Jian Peng developed a tool to map a gene’s “social network” to help researchers better understand its function and interactions, offering insights into treatment.
Distinguished Lecture Series: William Stafford Noble
November 7, 2016 Dr. William Stafford Noble will discuss several machine learning methods to help biologists make sense of large genomics datasets.