Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

The last ten years has brought a complete paradigm shift in fields of science and industries, ranging from environmental management, aquaculture, forestry, agriculture and the energy sector. Technological innovation has given scientists unprecedented ability to gather and analyze huge quantities of data. This newly collected data has created challenges due to its enormity and complexity, where informatics, bioinformatics and computational biology have central importance. Exploiting these huge reservoirs of multi-faceted data is the only means by which new discoveries and innovation will be possible. Individuals with the expertise to organize, visualize, analyze, integrate and interpret large data sets are extremely highly sought in industry and academia, particularly the large genomic data sets now being generated. Analysis of these large data sets demands expertise in date modeling, data mining, and statistical hypothesis testing, as well as multidisciplinary training in genetics and genomics. Current undergraduates typically lack the quantitative skills to find statistical needles in noisy haystacks, and require graduate training to be well positioned for the job market. In response to this, we propose to establish an innovative new graduate training program in ""High-Dimensional Bioinformatics"" (HDB) focused on the development of these highly desirable analytical skills required to interpret big data sets. HDB will fill the critical need for cross-disciplinary and collaborative research training in applied bioinformatics by providing extensive value-added activities beyond a standard thesis-based degree program. An innovative partnership between the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU), as well as an internship program, will encourage mobility between universities and other workplaces, and further strengthen linkages and collaboration among Canadian high-technology research groups in the private and public sector.