Using Mathematical Algorithms To Save Lives

Advances in molecular biology, proteomics and genetic testing have brought us closer to personalized health care that can tailor treatments to an individual patient\u27s needs. Data gathering capabilities have greatly surpassed data analysis techniques, creating a need for more effective methods to analyze a vast and growing amount of data. Bioinformatics, the use of computer science methods and tools in the life sciences, has exploded as modern high-throughput methods have generated a deluge of information, including sequence data, structural data, chemistry data, assay results and imaging data. While pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have begun to appreciate the potential benefit of information technology systems in improving the productivity of drug discovery and research, several hurdles must be overcome to fully capitalize on the impact this data may have on the health care industry. With the help of more than $3 million in competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation, Sorin Draghici, Ph.D. is working to develop new and effective approaches to analyze these data and identify impacted gene signaling pathways in a given condition