Colloquium Computer Science - Prof. Gyan Bhanot, Rutgers University New Jersey

Title: Finding Biology in Big Data

Abstract:

The availability of a huge amount of accurate data on genome sequences, RNA and protein expression profiles of tumors and normal samples and sequence and case data in viral pandemics has made biology of interest to researchers trained as mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists. Since the sequencing of the human genome, many scientists from these disciplines have started working on biological problems. In this talk I will show how, using simple clustering methods, ordinary differential equations and numerical simulations, we have been able to discover novel biological facts in areas as diverse as human migration, cancer treatment, ribosome structure, identification of protective polymorphisms and the evolution of the Covd-19 virus. The talk will not assume any prior knowledge of biology.