To meet the challenge of interdisciplinary research and training in bioinformatics, an integrated Center for Bioinformatics has been established at the University of Pennsylvania. The Center is among only a handful of academic groups worldwide dedicated strictly to bioinformatics. It is an Associated Center of the IME, and is co-sponsored by the Institute for Research In Cognitive Science.
Bioinformatics and computational biology are multidisciplinary fields that apply the tools and skills of computer science, mathematics, and statistics to the deeper understanding of biology and biomedicine. Bioinformatics specifically deals with the management, analysis, and visualization of information generated primarily by the Human Genome Project, as well as by other areas of molecular and cellular biology. Progress in these fields requires significant cross-disciplinary training and close collaborations between biologists, computer scientists, and mathematicians. At Penn, the Center represents collaborations between researchers in SOM, SEAS and SAS.
Chris Overton (Genetics, SOM) directs the Center. Susan Davidson (Computer and Information Science, SEAS) is Co-Director, and Warren Ewens (Biology, SAS) is Associate Director in charge of education. In addition to these core faculty, the Center includes seven associated faculty and 14 programmers, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and support personnel. Recruitment of three new senior faculty and associated staff persons over the next three years, and establishment of a service component are planned.
The Center's main functions are research, training, and industry outreach.
Research: Areas of research encompass physical and genetic mapping, biological databases, multiple sequence alignment, phylogeny construction, sequence research and analysis, simulation of control pathways, statistical methods, and discrete algorithms and combinatorial optimization in biology.
Education: Penn offers a BAS in computational biology through SAS and SEAS, MS of Biotechnology with a computational biology and bioinformatics track, and doctoral and post-doctoral funding through an NSF training grant.
Industry outreach: The Center runs the Penn Bioinformatics Forum seminar series, where university and industry investigators meet to exchange ideas and discuss research issues of mutual concern. An academic-industry partnership to train future bioinformatics specialists through practical internships and fellowships is planned.
Center for Bioinformatics
1313 Blockley Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6021
http://www.pcbi.upenn.edu/
TEL: 215.573.3107 or 573.3105
FAX: 215.573.3111
Jim Wolff, Business Administrator
E-MAIL:jwolff@pcbi.upenn.edu
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