The Bioinformatics and Beyond Podcast

For those considering a scientific career, Dr. Krista Ternus explains the wide array of scientific career paths in depth, from academia to companies to government labs to non profits and more. We also discuss leading a lab and winning scientific funding outside of academia. Finally, Dr. Ternus shares tips on writing successful grants and how to handle failure as a scientist.

Dr. Krista Ternus explains how studying metagenomics leads to being able to answer what is in an unknown sample, and describes the multiple applications of metagenomics. Dr. Ternus also explains applications of bioinformatics in synthetic biology and biosecurity.

As more sequence data becomes available from the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, there are a number of considerations to make when analyzing read datasets coming from genome sequencers. Dr. Krista Ternus explains common steps to take when analyzing these data sets, potential pitfalls, and interesting scientific questions that can be answered using this type of data.

What is Convalescent Plasma Therapy and how can it be used as a treatment for COVID-19? In this episode, Dr. Michael Joyner and Dr. Rickey Carter give us a lesson on the past, present, and future of convalescent plasma therapy. From its origins to its role in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We get a glimpse of both the clinical side, as well as the informatics side, of studying treatments for COVID-19, as well as the role of both clinicians and bioinformaticians in the future.

Adrianne Gladden-Young has been involved in the sequencing and surveillance of past outbreaks of emerging pathogens for many years. She discusses, for instance, her previous involvement in outbreaks such as Ebola and Zika. How can we be better prepared for future outbreaks?

Adrianne Gladden-Young tells us about her work in sequencing the very first SARS-CoV-2 genome in Massachusetts. She explains the full bioinformatics process of sequencing and analyzing SARS-CoV-2 genomes, starting from collecting a sample from someone who is sick, and ending with computational analyses leading to a better understanding of how COVID-19 spreads.

One of Darwin's original drawings of an evolutionary tree had "I think" written next to it. Dr. Luay Nakhleh explains how evolution underlies much, or perhaps all, of bioinformatics analyses. This includes his own research where he computationally models the evolutionary process, with a focus on cases where evolution violates Darwin's original assumption that evolution mirrors the shape of a tree. Dr. Nakhleh explains how he tackles the problem of modeling these complex evolutionary processes, including in cancer genomics.

What is Bioinformatics? What is the Bioinformatics and Beyond Podcast? What is the difference between Bioinformatics and Computational Biology? What skill sets are required to become a Bioinformatician? How would someone take their first step into the world of Bioinformatics? What career options are out there for Bioinformaticians?