University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
February 11-16, 2008
In our century grand challenges are at hand in Science. Great expectations have been generated in different fields by the increasing role and impact of computing and computer science in processing terabytes of data. In our era the ‘computational thinking’ of computer science meets the empirical and theoretical methods of Natural Sciences, from Physics to Biology with an un-precedent effort of accelerating breakthroughs and benefits to society. Ongoing projects aim at understanding the universe and the origin of life for better helping to preserve and protect our planet. Simulation and modeling go global and the novelty is that this is so also in Biology, where Bioinformatics and Computational Biology help in understanding basic mechanisms from molecular biology to systems/organismic biology in order to revolutionizing medicine and healthcare. Data acquired at molecular level from different species and/or individuals need to be analyzed at large and integrated in order to investigate our common origins and how we differentiated from each others, also in relation to environmental factors. Worldwide-integrated platforms for scientific computing, implementing also new mathematical and statistical approaches, and based on new computing paradigms need to be implemented for real time processing of the enormous amount of experimental data, produced at hyperbolic rate by genomics and proteomics efforts. New ideas and/or re-organization of scientific efforts with a better collaboration among researchers in theoretical, computational, experimental areas of investigation are urgently needed.
In the 9th edition of the Bologna Winter School in Bioinformatics, we will then ask the question of what grand challenges Computational Biology and Bioinformatics will explore in the next decade. Different subjects focusing as a test case on the human genome, including genome annotation, biodiversity, alternative splicing and its regulation, epigenetics, information transfer from 1D to 3D genetic code, cellular function and simulation, genomic medicine, SNPs and maladies will be reviewed to highlight present results and future perspectives to cope with the requirement of integrating computation with molecular description to understand basic principles 9th Bologna Winter School: Preliminary Programme Bologna (Italy, February 11-15, 2008) Giorgio Prodi Hall, Piazza San Giovanni in Monte, 2 MONDAY 11 9:30-10:45 Registration (“G.Prodi” Hall, piazza S.Giovanni in Monte, 2) 10:45-11:00 Welcome introduction
Lectio Magistralis: Complexity at the Fundamental level
11:00-13:00 Antonino Zichichi
New Challenges in Modern Biology
15:00-16:30 Alfonso Valencia 17:00-18:30 Roderic Guigò TUESDAY 12
Biodiversity from Genome annotation
9:30-11:00 Joaquin Dopazo 11:30-13:00 Jaume Bertranpetit
Structural Modelling at large: is it possible?
15:00-16:30 Modesto Orozco 17:00-18:30 Patrick Aloy
WEDNESDAY 13
Structural Bioinformatics
9:30-11:00 Anna Tramontano 11:30-13:00 Willie Taylor
Round Table Discussion: Worldwide integrated platforms for Scientific Computing 15:00-17:30 Participants: Giovanni Aloisio (SPACI), Dominic Clark (EBI), Giuseppe Martini (CNR)
THURDAY 14
Networks and Biology
9:30-11:00 Arthur Lesk 11:30-13:00 Christine Orengo
The 3-D structure of Membrane Proteins
15:00-16:30 David Jones 17:00-18:30 Arne Elofsson
FRIDAY 15
Genome Expression and Regulation
9:30-11:00 Graziano Pesole 11:30-13:00 Alvis Brazma 15:00-16:00 Gabriela Rustici
Student Corner
17:00-18:30 Presentations from the participants to the School
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