[VanBUG] VanBUG Seminar: Adam Phillippy – How bioinformatics helped crack the Amerithrax case Feb 11 6pm‏

Dear VanBUGger,

Happy 2016.  Please join us next Thursday, Feb 11th at 6pm, to hear about Dr. Adam Phillippy talk about his personal experience using bioinformatics to help crack the Amerithrax case (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/anthrax-amerithrax).
Title: How bioinformatics helped crack the Amerithrax case
Abstract:
In the fall of 2001, at least five letters laced with deadly anthrax spores were mailed across the United States. Five died, many others were sickened, and a nation already reeling from 9-11 was further terrified. The resulting investigation was the most complex and expensive in U.S. history. I will retell the story of how The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) sequenced multiple whole genomes of Bacillus anthracis to determine the source of these attacks–an incredible feat at the time. This work pioneered the field of microbial forensics and foretold the future of outbreak genomics, for which this type of analysis is now routine.
Suggested reading:
Phillippy, A. M., Schatz, M. C., & Pop, M. (2008). Genome assembly forensics: finding the elusive mis-assembly. Genome Biol, 9(3), R55.
Rasko, D. A., Worsham, P. L., Abshire, T. G., Stanley, S. T., Bannan, J. D., Wilson, M. R., … & Phillippy, A. M. (2011). Bacillus anthracis comparative genome analysis in support of the Amerithrax investigation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(12), 5027-5032.
Bio:
Dr. Adam Phillippy leads the Genome Informatics Section at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in Bethesda, Maryland. His group is currently developing efficient methods for the analysis of genomes and metagenomes using single-molecule sequencing with diagnostic applications to cancer and infectious disease. Software from his group is available at https://github.com/marbl. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland under the advising of Steven Salzberg, and has previously worked at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) and The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR).
Our introductory speaker is, Julie Chen, PhD student in Dr. Wyeth Wasserman’s lab. She will present a short talk on Genomic analyses of the X chromosome between sexes.
This year, you can tune in to view the VanBUG talks live online!  The permanent webcast link is http://vidyoreplay.computecanada.ca/replay/webcastShow.html?key=TAKdbjoDvIqKdLn.  This technology is brought to you by Compute Canada and WestGrid with support from PHSA Telehelath.
Simply point your browser at the link during the live session to view the talk live.  The webcast sessions are not interactive so if you have questions for the speakers please tweet your questions @VanBUG_ and we will try to respond to your questions live. Note that there is likely a 10-15 second delay with the video.  We would love to hear what you think of the new service!
Sessions will also be recorded and archived with the presenters’ consent and our youtube link is http://bit.ly/VanBUGtube.
Note that pizza, beverage and lively social interactions are not available via Webcast! So there are still good reasons to attend VanBUGs in person.
We have prepared an exciting season for you. Please visit our website at www.vanbug.org for all the other event dates and please save the dates!
Location:
675 West 10th Avenue
Gordon and Leslie Diamond Family Theatre
BC Cancer Agency

Date/Time:
Feb 11th, 2016
Start Time: 6:00 PM
End Time: 7:30 PM (followed by pizza and drinks)
Contact Name:
William Hsiao
dev@vanbug.org
http://vanbug.org

The VanBUG team:
Cedric Chauve
Rodrigo Goya
William Hsiao
Amy Lee
Kieran O’Neill
Raunak Shrestha
Thea Van Rossum

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.