Bioinformatics
Recent research and technological developments in life sciences have made it possible to obtain vast amounts of a wide variety of biological information. Bioinformatics is a technology that interprets such information and will become increasingly important in the future to keep us healthy.
For example, human genetic information is held in the genome which is composed of about 3 billion DNA sequences. DNA sequences which are different in each individual are strongly correlated to an individual's physiological condition, disease risk, and drug susceptibility.
Using a computer, bioinformatics quantifies the structure, changes, and behavior of biomolecules such as the genome, analyzes them together with physiological information, and derives relevant methods for improving lifestyle and health care.
The field of bioinformatics requires extensive knowledge of informatics and adaptability to tackle a wide variety of issues in life sciences. Practitioners (bioinformaticians) use their extensive experience and skills to solve problems, and as appropriate, need to be able to pioneer new fields.
It is extremely difficult for researchers in life sciences and informatics to understand each other's respective fields. It is also an important challenge to connect various research technologies within each field. Bioinformaticians must have experience and understanding of research technologies in both fields and have the ability to integrate them.
The low mobility of human resources in the fields of academia and industry in Japan has become an issue both in terms of creating experienced bioinformaticians and forming bioinformatics projects.
No such barrier exists between academia and industry in Europe and the United States, and there are many bioinformatics projects that bring together organizations and people from various disciplines, including biologists, geneticists, mathematicians, and programmers, to solve problems and pioneer new fields. Nurturing bioinformaticians who will be at the core of the network of necessary organizations and human resources to propel projects is an important issue.
CRECON Research & Consulting will nurture bioinformaticians as human resources who will plan, draft, and promote bioinformatics projects. We have set up the following four guidelines for human resource development.
Participation in research and development projects on the theme of human genome analysis, and acquisition of experience and achievements.
Participation in specialty research communities and establishment of a presence in these communities.
(Example: Participation in a large-scale genome analysis project in XXX)
Participation in joint projects with various related fields as human genome analysis researchers and formation of cross-disciplinary human resources networks.
(Example: Participation in evolutionary genetics, omics analysis, and bioinformation database projects)
Planning, drafting, and promotion of bioinformatics projects in CRECON Research & Consulting, and as leaders, discovery and development of bioinformatic human resources who will comprise the project.
iLAC is a genuinely unique entity devoted to fertile promotion of “precision medicine” (meticulously individualized medical procedures), which facilitates selection of optimum treatments, medications and other advances tailored to the needs of specific patients. With that vision in mind, iLAC provides high-throughput genome analysis, expression analysis and genome structure analysis applied to multiple specimens. Likewise mobilized are proteome, metabolomic and other omics analysis networks effective in formulating pathological evaluation systems on the strength of multidimensional markers.
Employing its high value-added, extensive and detailed databases, the laboratory contributes to the discovery of new therapeutic targets, fulfillment of healthy longevity against the backdrop of today’s aging society, and feasible curbs on healthcare costs.
National Cancer Center (of Japan), the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Tokyo University of Science, Kyoto University, University of Tsukuba, Kanazawa University, Osaka Medical College, etc.
1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-0821, Japan (inside Innovation Medical Research Institute)
Innovation Medical Research Institute, University of Tsukuba
