Topic：Computational Challenges in Next Generation RNA Sequencing Analysis (English)

Date&Time：2017/11/17 (五) 14:20

Speaker：Prof. Li-San Wang (Institute for Bioinformatics, University of Pennsylvania)

Location：清華大學台達館 DELTA @R216

Abstract:
Next generation sequencing technology (NGS) has brought revolution to molecular biology and medicine, but also interdisciplinary challenges to computational biology and bioinformatics due to its sheer size and complexity.
In this talk, I will present three novel algorithms developed by our lab to characterize non-coding RNAs, molecules transcribed from the genomic DNA sequences that, unlike the better studied messenger RNAs that serve as templates for proteins, nonetheless play many fundamental roles in the cell. These algorithms predict noncoding RNA function categories (CoRAL), detect nonstandard nucleotide modifications (HAMR), and infer secondary structure using pairing-aware sequencing protocols (HiPR). The power of these algorithms rely on careful selection of biologically interpretable features and statistical models that fully integrated with the underlying sequencing protocols.


Bio:
Li-San Wang received his B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the National Taiwan University, and his Ph.D. in Computer Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently he is Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, founding Co-Director of the Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center (PNGC), and Chair of The Graduate Group in Genomics and Computational Biology (GCB) at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Wang's research integrates bioinformatics, genomics, and genetics to study neurodegeneration. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed book chapters and journal articles and served on the program and organizing committees of various international workshops and conferences, and NIH and NSF grant review panels and study sections. He is the Principal Investigator of the National Institute on Aging Genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease Data Storage Site (NIAGADS), a national genetics data repository established by National Institute on Aging to facilitate access to genetics/genomics data for the study of late-onset Alzheimer's disease. He co-Directs the Center for Genetics and Genomics of Alzheimer’s Disease (CGAD), a specialized center funded by NIH to coordinate analysis activities for the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP), a presidential initiative to sequence the genomes of more than 11,000 individuals and find novel genetic variants for Alzheimer’s disease.