Machine Learning and RNA Sequence
Tuesday, March 30th, 1 PM
Zoom
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89327589659
Abstract
Machine learning algorithms can distinguish cat pictures from dog pictures, but can they distinguish different types of RNA? The answer is yes, actually. Several teams have published computer programs that learned to classify human RNA sequences as either mRNA or LncRNA. (The first kind is the protein-coding RNA you read about in textbooks. The second kind was discovered recently and remains poorly understood.) In collaboration with a WVU researcher and two Shepherd students, we are seeking a fundamental understanding of how these programs should be designed for mastering not only this classification task but also related challenges in computational biology.
Biography
Jason Miller is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the College of STEM. He received a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Computer Science from New York University and a Master’s in Computational Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked on research teams at GlaxoSmithKline, Celera Genomics, and the J. Craig Venter Institute. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Computer Science from West Virginia University. He has co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications in the field of bioinformatics.