About Bioinformatics at the University of Louisville
Mission & Vision
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BI-CB) are, respectively, the use of computational methods for handling biomedical data, and the application of computational approaches to biomedical data modeling and analyses. As such, BI-CB have become indispensable components of essentially all biological research. University of Louisville (UofL) researchers require a cohesive research and educational program in this area to remain competitive for extramural funding, especially the new initiatives developed under the auspices of the NIH Roadmap.
Through the various core facilties, researchers at UofL generate large amounts of genomic, proteomic, metabolomic and epidemiological data that are reduced and analyzed on a rather ad hoc basis. Several layers of data handling are often needed, from raw automated data reduction, automated interpretation, through statistical analyses, detailed mathematical modeling and computer simulation. These require adequate frameworks for support of software engineers, database specialists and other scientists of various background to work with biomedical researchers in developing new data analysis techniques, visualization methods and modeling software platforms, to name a few.
Pursuant to the analyses of data at the national and local levels, the Bioinformatics Task Force has identified four major areas of bioinformatics for the University. These include:
- Building research and educational capacity in the areas of computational, mathematical and statistical modeling in accordance with the paradigm shift in research and funding opportunities in the life sciences.
- Allocation of stipends and tuition costs for graduate students and clinical research fellowships to promote translational research opportunities.
- Allocation of infrastructure funds to sustain research and educational capacity at UofL.
- Creation of an Institute of Bioinformatics that synergizes with existing Centers and Institutes and that is funded via mechanisms that do not place the new institute in direct competition with other units within the University.