Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the analysis of biological information using the tools of computer science. Bioinformatics enables the study of nucleic acid sequences, peptides, proteins, genes and genomes using computer software and databases.

Despite the fact that nearly all cells in our body contain matching genes, not all of these genes are used in each cell. Some genes are expressed (turned-on) only when needed. And many genes are used to specify features unique to different type of cells. Genes that make insulin are located in pancreas cells, while liver cells express genes responsible for drug metabolism. To know how cells achieve such segregation, we need to identify which genes are expressed by different types of cell.

New microarray technologies and data evaluation software allow us to investigate many genes at once and determine which are expressed in a particular cell type. We use this powerful technology to investigate which genes are turned on and off in treated versus healthy tissues from various organisms and to determine the biological relevance of the genes and the biological pathway between different classes of genes.

The mission of this facility is to advance the understanding of integrative functions in biological systems, including human, through the application of computational models and data analysis with focus on cDNA microarray analysis. KUMC Bioinformatics core is established with funding from NIH Grant Number P20 RR016475 from the INBRE Program of the National Center for Research Resources (K-INBRE) and supported by The Smith Intellectual Developmental Disabilities Research Center (SIDDRC) NICHD HD 02528. The primary goals are to provide high quality services for genomic, proteomic and biomedical data analysis to investigators at KUMC and other K-INBRE participants. We are located at 2025 KLSIC.