The 4th Annual Translational and Transformative Informatics Symposium was held at the same time the world was in the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The symposium was moved to a virtual event due to travel restrictions, and Philip R.O. Payne, Ph.D., professor of the Institute for Informatics at Washington University in St. Louis was the keynote speaker.
The theme of ATTIS 2020, “Informatics Research to Improve Biomedical Research,” included the following presenters for the first Tool Talk Session: Jake Chen, Ph.D., Zechen Chong, Ph.D., Alexander Rosenberg, Ph.D., and Elliot Lefkowitz, Ph.D. These discussions focused on the current procedures for microbiome data analysis, the web server BEERE (Biomedical Entity Expansion, Ranking, and Exploration), the use of third-generation sequencing in addressing biological matters, and how the IgRep Toolbox is used to analyze B cell receptor repertoires.
The first research talk session of ATTIS 2020 provided presentations from Chindo Hicks, Ph.D., Richard Kennedy, Ph.D., and Bruce Korf, Ph.D. Conversations during this session highlighted the state of genomic medicine at UAB, racial health disparities in common human diseases, as well as geriatrics as an informatics laboratory.
Attendees were also able to sit in on a special topics workshop that focused on machine learning as well as the status of single-cell RNAseq with U-Brite.
The second Tool Talk Session included presentations from Jelai Wang, Darshan Chandrashekar, Ph.D., Brittany Lasseigne, Ph.D., and Wayne Liang, M.D. The discussions covered various topics ranging from predicting chromosomal instability, to integrative cancer analysis tools and pediatric cancer data commons.
The conclusion of ATTIS 2020 provided the second research talk session of the event, with presentations from Ralph Zottola, Ph.D., Malay Basu, Ph.D., Stephen Barnes, Ph.D., and Molly Fleece, M.D.
These discussions centered on the various pathways to success in bioinformatics, updates on the 2019 novel coronavirus, the grammar of genes, as well as the UAB research computing platform.
To watch ATTIS 2020, click the link here.