 | Dr. M. Vidyasagar Cecil & Ida Green (II) Professor of Systems Biology Science Mechanical Engineering Department University of Texas at Dallas. |
| Title | Probabilistic Algorithms for Predicting Genes from Genomes |
| Abstract | The genome of an organism presents a "digital" view of life, consisting of just four symbols: A, C, G, T. Genes are stretches of the genome (viewed as strings over this four-symbol alphabet) that satisfy certain necessary, though unfortunately NOT sufficient, conditions. Stretches of genome that satisfy the necessary conditions are known as ORFs (Open Reading Frames). Determining whether an ORF is really a gene is one of the major challenges of computational genomics. In the past, various methods have been tried, such as homology modeling (string matching), and statistical modeling. In this talk, the speaker will survey existing statistical algorithms for predicting genes, and indicate where there is room for improvement. Then he will present a new algorithm called 4M (Mixed Memory Markov Model) that not permits accurate prediction of genes, but also allows the user to rank the predictions in order of decreasing confidence. This latter has thus far not been present in other algorithms, and is of paramount importance when experimental biologists choose to verify the theoretical predictions. Open problems for further research will be indicated. |
| Bio | Chosen for the Control Systems Field Award for 2008 by IEEE, Dr Mathukumalli Vidyasagar is acknowledged as one of the leading Control Theorists in the world today. He brings four decades of post-Ph.D. research and administrative experience to a wide range of problems spanning "pure" control theory as well as its applications to computational biology, disease modeling and drug development, and quantitative finance. The use of stochastic modeling methods is the common thread that runs through his current research. Since September 2009, Dr. Vidyasagar has assumed the position of Cecil & Ida Green (II) Professor of Systems Biology Science at the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a member of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.Prior to joining UT Dallas, Dr. M. Vidyasagar was one of eight Executive Vice Presidents of Tata Consultancy Services Limited, India's largest software and IT services firm, with more than 150,000 employees. During his tenure at TCS, he was based in Hyderabad, India. He joined TCS in April 2000. At TCS, Dr Vidyasagar set up the Advanced Technology Centre which oversaw TCS' forays into non-traditional areas beyond IT. About 15 Ph.D.s and over 75 scientists and engineers worked directly under Dr. Vidyasagar within the ATC, in areas such as Life Sciences, E-Security, Open Source/Indian Languages, Smart Card Technologies, and Quantitative Finance. Earlier, between 1989 and 2000, as Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) located in Bangalore, India, for the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, Dr. Vidyasagar built a leading research laboratory with about 45 scientists and about 85 persons in all, working in the areas of aircraft control, robotics, neural networks, and image processing. Dr. Vidyasagar received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1965, 1967, and 1969 respectively. After completing his Ph.D. in 1969, he spent the next 20 years as a Professor of Electrical Engineering, most recently at the University of Waterloo in Canada, before returning to India in 1969. Dr. Vidyasagar is the author of ten books and over 130 technical papers in refereed journals. He has won several awards in recognition of his research, including the "Distinguished Service Citation" from his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. He was awarded the Fellowship of IEEE at 35, one of the youngest to receive this honor. He is also a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, the Third World Academy of Sciences, and the Indian National Academy of Engineering. In 2004, the IEEE Spectrum named him as one of forty "Tech Gurus" around the world, along with the likes of Vinton Cerf, Craig Barrett, and Arthur Clarke. |