National Cheng Kung University kicks off 23rd International Conference on Genome Informatics

National Cheng Kung University kicked off GIW 2012 -- the 23^rd International Conference on Genome Informatics -- at International Conference Hall Dec. 12, attracting more than 140 scholars from 10 countries including Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, Canada, America, Germany, and Australia.

The focus of three-day conference was to explore complex biological systems and to employ the expertise of computer engineering in designing effective methodologies for genome-wide study, said Dr. Jung-Hsien Chiang, the general chair of GIW 2012, at the opening ceremony.

Chiang, an NCKU professor of Institute of Medical Informatics, said, "GIW 2012 addresses computational understanding of biological systems for new developments in genome bioinformatics and computational biology, both from an academic standpoint as well as from the perspective of practical application."

He added, "Genome informatics spans the entire range of everything you see in the biological community today, from sequence analysis to proteomics analysis, high-throughput gene expression, next-generation sequencing data, mass spectrometry, drug design, promoter analysis, protein complexes, motif binding, protein-protein interactions, stem cell, microRNA activity, and transcriptional regulatory."

Yon-Hua Tzeng, dean of College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, NCKU, on behalf of NCKU President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, welcomed the participants from the world.

"The conference features a lively and informative forum for scientists and researchers to exchange ideas and approaches, and this can be a good opportunity for international collaboration," Tzeng said.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Hideo Matsuda from Department of Bioinformatic Engineering, Osaka University, Japan, gave a talk Dec. 12 entitled "Large-Scale Gene Regulatory Network Analysis for Adipocyte Differentiation on High-Performance Computer."

Matsuda introduced a study aimed at comprehensively understanding the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that govern the process of a cell differentiation.

Dr. Ilya Shmulevich from Institute for System Biology, USA, will give a keynote speech on "Integrative Analysis and Interactive Exploration of Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas," Dec. 13.

Shmulevich will be followed by Wen-Hsiung Li, a distinguished research fellow and director of Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, who will deliver the third keynote speech, on "Protein Structure, Function and Classification."

Source: National Cheng Kung University