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MGET
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Research
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& Development of Healthy Animals Education
Training Programs Bioinformatics
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Advances in molecular biology over the past fifteen years have made it possible to approach biological questions at new levels of complexity. Rather than dissecting individual components of a biological system, system-wide analytical approaches can be pursued. A critical factor in this paradigm shift has been the availability of vast amounts of genomic sequence data. Access to complete genomic sequences, coupled with rapidly accumulating data related to RNA and protein expression patterns, has made it possible to envision new ways to understand how genes contribute to complex phenotypes. With this broader focus, we can begin to address how entire biochemical and developmental pathways are organized and regulated in a whole animal system. Implicit in the understanding of complex phenotypes is the ability to discern and predict function from sequence information. The goal of the Computational Biology in Animal Agriculture (CBAA) Training program at Iowa State University is to provide Ph.D. students with the necessary tools and expertise to approach biological questions from a systems-wide perspective. Traditional, discipline based graduate training programs do not encompass the breadth of interdisciplinary training required for system-wide analyses. Such preparation requires a multidisciplinary approach, involving not only diverse expertise in the biological sciences - from developmental biology to infectious disease - but also expertise from disciplines in which biologists typically have only rudimentary training.
This CBAA training program focuses on preparing students to appreciate and utilize the richness of biological information in the accumulating sequence and expression databases and apply that information toward critical and emerging areas in animal agriculture. This CBAA training group consists of a diverse group of highly interactive scientists who are enthusiastic about the challenges and opportunities presented by modern biology.
As illustrated in the diagram, these scientists have expertise in four interdependent research areas. The top group represents the ISU faculty involved in animal and microbial genomics initiatives. These scientists, along with their colleagues and collaborators from around the world, are producing the prodigious quantities of sequence, expression and trait data that make the systems-wide approaches possible. The bottom two groups represent ISU faculty with expertise in understanding patterns and processes of change that regulate animal growth and host-pathogen interactions. Integrating these three different biological perspectives will make it possible to obtain new insights about animal and microbial systems from genomics data. The fourth area of emphasis, bioinformatics, provides the tools and methods of analysis necessary to integrate genomics data to understand the biological systems at new levels of complexity. A novel aspect of the CBAA training program is the emphasis on integrating state-of-the-art computational approaches with basic training in biology to prepare future scientists for the challenges and opportunities in emerging areas of animal agriculture. |
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For
additional information: Email: mget@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-7937 |
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URL: http://www.bioinformatics.iastate.edu/MGET/ |
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