CCCB News

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The Human Genome, written by John Quackenbush, PhD

The DNA sequence that comprises the human genome--the genetic blueprint found in each of our cells--is undoubtedly the greatest code ever to be broken. Completed at the dawn of a new millennium, the feat electrified both the scientific community and the general public with its tantalizing promise of new and better treatments for countless diseases, including Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's. Yet what is arguably the most important discovery of our time has also opened a Pandora's box of questions about who we are as humans and how the unique information stored in our genomes can and might be used, making it all the more important for everyone to understand the new science of genomics. In The Curiosity Guide to the Human Genome, Dr. John Quackenbush, a renowned scientist and professor, conducts a fascinating tour of the history and science behind the Human Genome Project and the technologies that are revolutionizing the practice of medicine today. With a clear and engaging narrative style, he demystifies the fundamental principles of genetics and molecular biology, including the astounding ways in which genes function, alone or together with other genes and the environment, to either sustain life or trigger disease. In addition, Dr. Quackenbush goes beyond medicine to examine how DNA-sequencing technology is changing how we think of ourselves as a species by providing new insights about our earliest ancestors and reconfirming our inextricable link to all life on earth. Finally, he explores the legal and ethical questions surrounding such controversial topics as stem cell research, prenatal testing, forensics, and cloning, making this volume of The Curiosity Guides series an indispensable resource for navigating our brave new genomic world.

 

Dr. John Quackenbush is Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Professor of Cancer Biology, and Director of the Center for Cancer Computational Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Trained as a theoretical physicist, he transitioned to biomedical research through his work on the Human Genome Project. A pioneer in DNA microarray analysis and a world-renowned expert in bioinformatics, his current work involves using cutting-edge genomic technologies and laboratory and computational methods to search for gene targets that might lead to more effective medical treatments for cancer and other diseases. 
 

You can purchase the book here.

 

 

 

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Catharina, our winter intern

Catharina Olsen, a German graduate student doing her Ph.D. at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, has been interested in the predictive ability of networks inferred from gene expression data. She joined the CCCB as an intern from October to December 2010, a period during which she implemented a novel framework for network inference based on information theory and regression modeling. The resulting R package, called PredictioNet, will be open-source and freely available from CRAN. Moreover, PredictioNet will be used in the Prediction Networks web application designed by the company Entagen in the framework of the CCCB's EUREKA project. Catharina will take these new experiences back to Belgium where she will conclude her Ph.D. in the Machine Learning Group headed by Professor Gianluca Bontempi.

 

 

 

 

 

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Beginning Data Analysis with MultiExperiment Viewer (MeV)

November 30th, 1:00 - 4:00 PM, Countway 403

MeV is a desktop application othat brings sophisticated data mining and visualization tools to the benchtop researcher, through an easy, button-driven user interface. No programming experience is required to make immediate use of powerful statistical tools such as ANOVA, survival analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). This workshop will be a mix of hands-on tutorial and lecture. We will begin with normalized Affymetrix microarray data and proceed through basic filtering, clustering and statistical testing. If time allows, we will explore more advanced analyses, such as Bayesian Network analysis.

 

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PostDoc and Graduate Association's 2010 Retreat

Dana-Farber's PostDoc and Graduate Association (PGA) hosted a fun and informative retreat at The Holiday Inn at Beacon Hill on Friday, September 24, 2010. In the poster room, the CCCB had a popular table in which the attendees learned about our services and research, took with them informational flyers, and connected with our colleagues. Speakers at the retreat included Dr. Robert Langer, Dr. Peter Fisk, and various postdoc and graduate student oral presentations.

 

 

 

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Chia-Wei, our summer intern

Chia-Wei Lu, a graduate student from Taiwan has been interested in the Next-Generation Sequence (NGS) data analysis and algorithm. He joined the CCCB as an intern to gain hands-on experiences in algorithm evaluation and analysis pipeline construction for NGS data in biomedical research. During his internship, he made great contributions in implementing RNASeq data processing pipeline and characterizing the transcriptomes of different sarcoma cell lines. He will bring these experiences back to Taiwan where he is pursuing his Ph.D in Computer Science from National Tsing Hua University.