I have long been interested in how the components of cancer systems in the forms of gene expression, gene copy number, and mutations are logically related to each other and how they regulate each other.
Working with my engineering colleagues for the last 14 years, we have developed mathematical models called the Probabilistic Boolean Network to study gene-regulatory networks (Bioinformatics 18:261-274, 2002; 18:1319-1331, 2002). We have also recently developed an algorithm called MIRACLE to carry out integrated analysis of different genetic and epigenetic events such as miRNA and mRNA (Cancer Cell, 23:186–199, 2013; Cancer Research, 20:878-89, 2014).
My group continues to integrate biology and informatics. My group has been funded by the National Foundation for Cancer Research for a Center for Cancer Systems Informatics to gain new insight into cancer systems.