Statistical Consulting for Genome Research

Provided jointly by the Illinois Statistics Office and the W. M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The rapid advancement of genome technologies is changing the way molecular biology research is conducted.  Various genome projects have produced a wealth of data for comparative analysis of different genomes.  Microarray technology has opened a completely new phase of functional genomics.  As a result, biologists have gained access to complex databases whose contents have increased by orders of magnitude.  Optimal statistical analysis is required in order to produce quality data and turn them into comprehensive insight knowledge.  For example, the quality of gene expression data can vary widely among experiments due to variations among individual measurements or due to different starting materials used for sample preparation.  Statistical methods can be used to detect and extract internal structure of the data such as errors and confidence levels.  Statistical models and methods are also an important part of Data Mining for exploring the large quantities of microarray data in order to discover meaningful patterns and structures.

With the goal of assisting faculty and students on campus, the Illinois Statistics Office (ISO) and the W. M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics have jointly initiated a consulting service specially designed for genome research.  This service will primarily focus on microarray experiments but will extend to other areas in genomics as well.

• data storage and management for genomic studies
• preprocessing of micro-array data (e.g. normalization and quality control)
• experimental design (e.g. replication for efficient analysis)
• data mining (e.g. pattern discovery)
• hypothesis testing (e.g. control of false positive and false negative rates)
• assistance for grant proposals

Cost estimates will be provided on a per project basis.  Hourly rates are also available through ISO.  For additional information please contact any of the following:

The Illinois Statistics Office (ISO), affiliated with the Department of Statistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, provides a wide range of statistical consulting services to members of the University community, government, and industry.  It combines the statistical expertise of the faculty and students of the Department of Statistics to provide services in designing experiments, analyzing data, evaluating existing methods, developing rigorous and innovative statistical models and methods for specific scientific applications.  With its current director, Professor Xuming He; full-time manager, Dr. Susanne Aref; three faculty consultants and six graduate student consultants, ISO is prepared to consult on short term or long range applied research.  In recent years, ISO has participated in a number of medium- to large-scale projects in collaboration with scientists on campus.  ISO staff are ready to work with the Bioinformatics Unit and the Functional Genomics Unit of the Keck Center to provide statistical support for gene expression analysis in research projects.

The W. M. Keck Center for Comparative and Functional Genomics is a unit of the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Established in 1999 with a grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation, the Center consists of three units:  High Throughput Sequencing and Genotyping, Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics.  The Functional Genomics Unit provides both glass-based spotted array and silicon-based Affymetrix Genechip technologies.  Its services range from microarray production to hybridization to image scanning and data analysis.  The Bioinformatics Unit provides state-of-art informatic infrastructure for the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center with one 16-processor SCI Origin2000 super computer and several Sun workstations.  The Bioinformatics Unit is headed by Dr. Lei Liu with four full-time employees.  Its services include data management, software development, and data analysis.  Since its inception, the W. M. Keck Center has participated in several large genome projects and has established research collaborations across campus and with other institutions and companies.  More than 200 faculty, graduate and undergraduate students are using the Center's services each year.