Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

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.