Bioinformatics research in the Asia Pacific: a 2007 update.

Shoba Ranganathan,Tin Wee Tan,Michael Gribskov

doi:10.1186/1471-2105-9-s1-s1

Abstract

We provide a 2007 update on the bioinformatics research in the Asia-Pacific from the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet), Asia's oldest bioinformatics organisation set up in 1998. From 2002, APBioNet has organized the first International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB) bringing together scientists working in the field of bioinformatics in the region. This year, the InCoB2007 Conference was organized as the 6th annual conference of the Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Network, on Aug. 27–30, 2007 at Hong Kong, following a series of successful events in Bangkok (Thailand), Penang (Malaysia), Auckland (New Zealand), Busan (South Korea) and New Delhi (India). Besides a scientific meeting at Hong Kong, satellite events organized are a pre-conference training workshop at Hanoi, Vietnam and a post-conference workshop at Nansha, China. This Introduction provides a brief overview of the peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication in this Supplement. We have organized the papers into thematic areas, highlighting the growing contribution of research excellence from this region, to global bioinformatics endeavours.

Highlights

Open AccessBioinformatics research in the Asia Pacific: a 2007 updateShoba Ranganathan*1,2, Michael Gribskov3 and Tin Wee Tan2Address: 1Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Research Institute, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia, 2Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597 and 3Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, Lilly Hall of Life Sciences 915 W
The informatics challenges posed by large scale phylogenetic analysis have prompted Singh et al [37] to develop Quascade, a distributed computing platform, for phyloinformatics, for the rapid analysis of viral sequences, and for monitoring pathogen evolution. As exemplified in this special issue, and by a wide range of publications from other conferences mentioned in this editorial, it is clear that Asia Pacific bioinformatics research is thriving
As a new generation of life science researchers trained to practise in silico biology in addition to in vitro and in vivo life science emerges, the need for resources will increase

Summary

Introduction

Address: 1Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Research Institute, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia, 2Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597 and 3Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, Lilly Hall of Life Sciences 915 W. Published: 13 February 2008 BMC Bioinformatics 2008, 9(Suppl 1):S1 doi:10.1186/1471-2105-9-S1-S1. Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet) Sixth International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB2007) Shoba Ranganathan, Michael Gribskov and Tin Wee Tan Proceedings

Conclusion

Findings

38. Ranganathan S