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Computational Biology

Dr. Tatiana Tatarinova is an Associate Professor of Biology and Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair In Computational Biology.

Description: 

  • Computational biology has no limits 
  • Ancient DNA analysis from 300 medieval graves of Khazars 
  • Plant genomics, the prediction of plant phenotype from genotype and environmental data 
    • annotation of plant genomes
    • analysis of epigenetic modification in plants 
  • Dog and cat DNA analysis where we investigate bottlenecks, kinship, inbreeding, domestication, co-evolution with humans, and other interesting things! 
  • Modern human DNA analysis by collecting a database of human variation and will build a website that is more accurate than 23andMe
  • Bacterial genomics by computationally investigating how bacteria adapts to an environment 

Techniques used: 

  • We work with plants and animals – since DNA is DNA
  • We develop methods to solve puzzles and unlock secrets of nature – in silico
  • We have a wide network of collaborators in almost all corners of the earth. 
  • Genome assembly and annotation 
  • Provenance prediction 
  • Prediction of phenotype from genotype and environment 
  • Ancient DNA analysis 

Student Requirements:

  • The work does not have to be done in the lab – it can be done in the comfort of your home, cafe, dorm room, or a classroom
  • Develop clever algorithms 
  • Draw cute pictures with kittens 
  • Team projects and presentations  
  • Willingness to learn computational biology, which includes data mining, visualization, scripting, and statistical analysis 
  • In 2019 during Jan term…
    • Plant team traveled to Malaysia
    • DNA team traveled to Japan and Russia 
    • Bacterial team may traveled to Israel 
  • Chances to get hands-on experience in oil palm genetics and breeding