Assistant Professor Xinghua "Mindy" Shi, Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, has earned a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for the project "Integrative Approaches to Uncovering Complex Genotype-Phenotype Relationships in High Dimensional Genomics Data.”
With the award, Shi becomes the seventh faculty member in the College of Computing and Informatics to be recognized by the NSF or Department of Energy (DOE) with a CAREER award for junior faculty.
A five-year continuing grant totaling nearly $600,000, the CAREER award is a testament to the NSF's commitment to rewarding and supporting talented researchers and helping recipients establish a foundation for a lifetime of leadership integrating education and research.
For Shi, the award is a recognition of her past work in the field of bioinformatics, an intersection of computer science and biology.
"This award also supports me and my group to forge our way to utilize the emerging machine learning techniques toward understanding a longstanding and challenging problem in biology, which is, how our genetic makeup contributes to phenotypic variation," Shi said.
Shi's project will speed the realization of the promise envisioned for big data genomics by establishing a new paradigm for genomics by fully exploiting the gamut of genomic datasets to better understand basis biology and combining robust statistical modeling and rigorous computational approaches toward predictive modeling of genomics data.
Shi's work will impact how genomics and bioinformatics are studied at all levels, from K-12 to graduate and Ph.D. programs and eventually in the way treatment of diseases could be customized.
"Although our project is a fundamental research project, the deliverables from this project will reduce the barrier to apply complex models to address many scientific questions by providing software tools to help us understand how genetic difference will lead to different traits in humans, plants and beyond," Shi said. "This includes how we identify biomarkers to better characterize diseases like cancer, and how we develop personalized therapies to treat and manage these diseases. Other applications include the design of genetic strategies to support efficient bioenergy production, agriculture cultivation and environmental sustainability."
Since 1983, the NSF has been rewarding outstanding work conducted by early-career faculty. Today, NSF CAREER awards are the foundation's most prestigious grant in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through research, education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.
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