WORLDCOMP'07 Tutorial

Aftermaths of several drafts of Human Genome Project, there are many genes and associated proteins that remain to be characterized. Tools have been developed to utilize evolutionary relationships toward understanding uncharacterized proteins while there is a need to generate functional interaction networks. A systematic understanding of genes and proteins in a regulatory network has just rooted bringing the birth of System Biology (SB). But a question remains to be answered: With umpteen genes having no function, is Systems Biology the solution for finding function for such orphan genes? This breakthrough course would essentially cover the following topics in brief:

• Bioinformatics to Systems Biology: Essential ascent
• The Whats and the Hows of Protein Protein Interactions(PPI): A Computational Biologist perspective
• Why and whither Systems Biology?
• Computational Systems Biology vs. Molecular Systems Biology
• Assays, tools and techniques in PPIs: Pros and Cons
• Types of interactions and networks
• Data validation and integration: Brief notes
• Networkology: Data representations
• Capabilities of networks
• Look at the Protein Protein Interaction data
• Future Challenges
• Brief exercises on iHOP, String, Bind, PreBind, Genecards, MINT, HPRD
• (If time permits) Introduction to Cytoscape: Brief exercise
• Evaluation
  
  

This course deals with basics in Systems Biology and Protein-protein interactions (PPI). A basic exercise on implementing network topologies in protein-protein interactions will be taught. You could receive notes of literature, suggested readings by e-mailing (prash@ruc.dk)

The course requirement is that you be a graduate or pursuing graduation from Biology and a basic knowledge of Computers and Molecular Biology.

Prashanth Suravajhala is a PhD student in Dr. Lene Juel Rasmussen’s group at Roskilde University. He is working on Computational Biology of Mitochondrial targeted proteins specific to Mismatch Repair in Humans. He could be reached at http://ruc.dk/~prash