Duke University Computational Biology & Bioinformatics

Directory of CBB Program Faculty

(Alphabetical list of faculty)

The research interests of the faculty span a large segment of modern computational biology and bioinformatics. We organize these (loosely, since many faculty work in multiple areas) inot six areas.

Systems Biology

Faculty in this inter-disciplinary area focus on the systematic study of complex interactions in biological systems, integrating and analyzing complex data from multiple experimental sources.  Many are members of the IGSP’s Center for Systems Biology, which has as its central research theme the study of network dynamics across various time scales, including temporal changes in both network state and structure.  Current focus is on a variety of biological systems including: budding yeast, sea urchins, plant roots, worms, and human cell lines.

Genome Analysis

Faculty in this area take advantage of the vast amount of data made available through the Human Genome Project and other large-scale sequencing efforts,  applying computational approaches to understand and predict the function of DNA.

Computational Structural Biology

Faculty in this area use computational approaches to help resolve molecular structures of macromolecules and uncover their interactions. Many of these faculty are also part of Duke’s Structural Biology & Biophysics Program.

Genomic Medicine

Faculty in this area apply large-scale genomic technologies (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, genome-wide association studies) to understand and predict human diseases and traits.  Most of these faculty are affiliated with the Medical Center and include physician-scientists, statisticians and population geneticists.

Evolutionary Genomics

Faculty in this area use computational approaches to study how changes in the content and organization of genomes have contributed to the diversity of life on Earth, as well as the processes that have shaped these changes.

Mathematical and Statistical Modeling of Biological Systems

A common theme in the work of many faculty in CBB is the use of Mathematical and Statistical Models to study biological questions.  Areas of application are widespread and include immunology, physiology, metabolic and gene regulatory networks, ecology and population biology and evolutionary biology.