Single-cell RNA sequencing: where we are and where we are heading
BMC Seminar Thursday 18th of November, 12:00 on Zoom.
Speaker: Páll Melsted, Professor Department of Computer Science
Title: Single-cell RNA sequencing: where we are and where we are heading
Abstract: Single-cell RNA-sequencing is a technology that enables researchers to measure the transcriptional activity of individual cells for tens of thousands of cells simultaneously. This exciting technology has the potential to transform what we know about tissues, the different roles that cells play, and can deliver new insights into diseases by comparing affected and healthy cell populations.
As with all new technologies, making the most of this new resource requires the development of new bioinformatics pipelines and constantly revisiting generally accepted methodologies. This includes ensuring we can scale up algorithms and software with the increasing size of datasets generated, but also making sure that the analysis does not introduce unwanted sources of variation.
In this talk, we will cover the technical aspects of single-cell RNA sequencing protocols, the downstream analysis and future possibilities.
Bio: Páll received his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Mathematics from the University of Iceland in 2003 and completed a PhD degree in Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009. He was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago from 2009 to 2011 and joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Iceland from 2011 and is currently a professor of computer science. He also joined deCODE genetics and is currently leading the effort on analyzing RNA sequencing data at deCODE. His work is focused on the development of efficient algorithms for working with high-throughput sequencing data and analysis of RNA sequencing datasets.
