Biography
Biography: Sophia Tsoka
Abstract
Insight into molecular interactions at systems level is critical for biological discovery and the understanding of disease mechanisms. Bioinformatics and Systems Biology strategies aim to develop appropriate computational and mathematical characterization of biological systems, in order to provide a holistic view of system properties and dynamics. I will discuss recent work in developing data mining protocols to target protein interactions, so as to link network topological properties to the underlying molecular features. Such community detection approaches are based on combinatorial optimization principles, involve data from various high throughput experiments and span weighted, consensus, dynamic networks and overlapping communities. The use of such methodologies will be illustrated in the context of gene expression and microbiome analysis in skin inflammatory disorders, so as to reveal the implication of specific biochemical pathways and the interplay of host-microbiome interactions.