Breaking it Down: Computational Biology

The last—and perhaps most complex—side of the Roychowdhury lab team is our computational biologists. Our clinic team and wet lab scientists encompass the more traditional, well-known parts of cancer research. However, as we have already learned, our team here at The Ohio State University works to surpass traditional approaches and build a diverse team to tackle one of the world’s most difficult obstacles.

In computational biology, data are king. With the advancements in technology of the past few decades, computers are increasingly capable of analyzing more complex sets of data and interpreting them for countless purposes. In previous discussions, we’ve encountered our lab’s sequencing instruments, which are used to assess each patient’s DNA to effectively identify alterations present in his/her cancer. These large data sets of patient DNA are analyzed through computational biology programs—known as pipelines—where our team can simplify the literally billions of molecules (As, Cs, Ts, and Gs) that make up our DNA. Think of a pipeline like a Sparknotes program: it’s able to condense an entire library’s worth of information into a single short story of what matters most. From there, these Sparknotes provide a deeper understanding of not only our patients’ cancers, but for patients across the country similarly diagnosed.

In the more detailed actions of our computational biologists day-to-day, several roles are essential to our collaborative lab. Our computer pipelines, analysis tools that take raw DNA sequences from patients and locate points of interest, require continual maintenance and updates to more accurately detect cancerous alterations. Larger data sets are constantly analyzed to match the rare cancers seen in the by our clinical team with other cases around the world. There are even creative approaches, too. When cancers grow and mutate, they can become resistant to treatments. Our bioinformaticians are always working on innovative approaches to combat this resistance—one project is even working to predict changes in someone’s cancer before they even occur: like finding the enemy’s battle plans before an impending attack.

Altogether, our computational biologists function as the support system of the Roychowdhury Lab. They analyze patient data to better understand each’s unique cancer and how it compares to others seen in the world. They work on groundbreaking approaches to the future of precision cancer medicine. Although they don’t all have a definite scientific background, our computation team plays an essential role in the Roychowdhury Lab’s goals of creating better, healthier lives for our cancer patients.