Professor Liu Xiaole: my indissoluble relationship with bioinformatics

A few days ago, I saw on twitter the statement that Professor Liu Xiaole, my hero, resigned from Harvard University and joined the industry . Shocked and envious , Review a story shared by Professor Liu about her relationship with bioinformatics .

From Peking University to Stanford , Biology meets computers

Like a lot of people , I had my own dream when I was a teenager . My brother is seven years older than me , When he entered China Agricultural University , I'm in grade five , It was he who brought me to the magical biological world . In junior high school , My head teacher is a biology teacher , My biologist dream just takes root in my heart .

In the college entrance examination , I was admitted to the Biology Department of Peking University , And I transferred to Smith University in my sophomore year , Follow my mentor Stephen · William studies genetics . Since then , I am full of interest in genetics , Stephen is also the best teacher I have ever met . In the second semester after transfer, I began to struggle and confused , I'm very homesick , Miss my friend , Full of confusion about my future . With the gradual deepening of the understanding of Biology , Let me deeply feel that this career path is long and difficult . In my opinion at that time , Whether doing research or teaching , I'll never catch up with my teacher Stephen .

In the following summer , I spent some time in New York with my cousin and his wife . They are computer engineers , And encourage me to try to learn computer science . I listened to their suggestions , Smith University has computer professors who attach great importance to teaching and care about students , I decided to double repair computers . The vocabulary of computer is much less than that of Biology , It's not that hard to learn , And have a CS The degree is also a way I left for myself .

At the end of junior year , The University of Washington organized a symposium , The purpose is to attract junior students to graduate school majoring in bioengineering . Because of my double degree background , Several professors nominated me to attend this symposium , And the travel expenses are free . During my first trip to the west coast, I visited Stanford 、USCF、 Berkeley , as well as UCLA. In the admissions office at Stanford , I saw a manual about the doctor's degree program in medical informatics . Using computer technology to solve medical problems , I felt that God had opened a door for me , Excited and excited .1997 year , Stanford has set up a new presidential SCHOLARSHIP , I'm lucky to be one of the first winners . In the first year of study , I realized , If the vocabulary of biology is difficult , Then a large number of medical professional vocabulary will be more difficult . No medical background , It makes me feel that I can't really do a good job in medical informatics . Just during this period, gene microarray chip was born in Stanford , Our major is also renamed biomedical informatics . therefore , After I finished the rotation , Start looking for transcription factor motifs from microarray gene expression clusters （motif）, Since then, the direction of gene regulation has been deeply attracting me .

Bioinformatics is an important means to explore life science

Many scientific discoveries are not predictable , There are more surprises . To me, , I will choose important and interesting research projects , Of course, if a person is capable 、 Professional knowledge 、 Background and other advantages can stimulate interest . such as , I have the background of biology and computer , It is easy to develop and optimize bioinformatics algorithms and has advantages , Naturally I like it . If we are enthusiastic about what we do and pay enough attention and effort , Naturally, you will enjoy the process .

Our current research direction is to study gene regulation mechanism and cancer precision medicine through bioinformatics big data mining and high-throughput omics Technology . We developed to find transcription factor motifs 、 Immune coprecipitation genomic binding sites 、 and CRISPR The statistical algorithm for screening and finding targets has tens of thousands of users , It helps the promotion and application of advanced technology . We have published the world's first high-throughput map of human nucleosome distribution , It is the first time to discover the dynamic changes of epigenetic group in stem cell development and cancer , Reveal estrogen receptors 、 androgen receptor 、EZH2、 And non coding RNA Functional mechanisms in breast cancer and prostate cancer , Discover the targets and anti drug mechanisms of epigenetic drugs in cancer , Recently, it is in cancer targeted therapy 、 Immunotherapy 、 And compound therapy have new breakthroughs .

Based on years of experience in bioinformatics research , I feel deeply that I have completed an experimental project of big data output , It must cost a lot of effort . But if you can't analyze 、 Understand the meaning behind these data , Then our work cannot be really completed . The future of biomedical research depends not only on experimental biologists who can design excellent experiments and produce high-quality data , It also depends on computational biologists who can effectively analyze and mine the generated data . The new generation of biologists need some basic training in experiment and analysis , For example, although some biologists are experts in biochemistry , But Molecular Biology 、 cytology 、 Or you have to be a little better at building animal models . Although not proficient , At least one person doing biological research should not be afraid of big data .

Bioinformatics is a great driving force for biomedicine in the information age . Twenty years ago , Few people （ Except for a few pioneers ） I can think of solving the problems of biomedicine through computers . Now , Many biomedical research institutions are producing massive amounts of data , And hope to understand these data through computational biologists . Looking back over the past 50 years , Driven by technology, biomedicine is developing at a high speed , In particular, gene chips have emerged in the past two decades 、 High throughput sequencing and imaging technology . While human beings are more and more eager to solve the mystery of life , The importance of bioinformatics is also increasingly prominent , The methods and means of data analysis are constantly innovating , Help decipher the meaning behind the data .

From America to China , I am full of confidence and expectation for China's innovation

although , I have spent most of my life studying and living in the United States , However, we will always pay attention to the development of domestic science . China is in Computer Science 、 There are many talents in the fields of mathematics, statistics and Biology , This reserves a good potential for domestic bioinformatics research to lead the world . With the strong support of President Pei gang , Choose to return to Tongji University as a professor , Set up a laboratory , I hope to cultivate a new generation of excellent computational biologists in China . Academician Pei realized the importance of bioinformatics with foresight , Very supportive of the development of bioinformatics in Tongji University , Create a good research atmosphere . Moreover, the domestic scientific research policy has been becoming more and more reasonable in recent years , Let scientific research be more free , Respect people first , Gradually integrate with foreign countries . There are many great research institutes and pharmaceutical companies around Shanghai , Good scientific research can drive industrial development . After I worked with Tongji University for a year ,Cold Spring Harbor Asia Established in Suzhou , So that teachers and students of Tongji University and research institutes of other universities can easily participate in the world's top scientific conferences .

Learning and communication are very important to the growth and development of scientific research .30 Years ago , Most of China is copying American computers and IT industry , But gradually, wechat and Taobao in China are better than their American counterparts . In the past 20 years , At first, biomedical research followed foreign countries , But in recent years, the development is amazing . Now? , Chinese bioscientists have begun to lead the world's cutting-edge research , Medical scientists are catching up . China's biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and development will bring more innovation over time , I'm very confident about that .