Course Name: Analysis and Applications of Genome‐Scale Data
Course Number: BMI 8130
Classroom: Remote
Time: Autumn, 2021; Monday 2-5 pm
Instructor: Qin Ma
Office Hour: by appointment
Introduction: The goal of this course is to introduce trainees to the fundamental algorithms needed to understand and analyze genome-scale expression data sets. The special focus will be on single-cell data analysis. The course will cover three major categories: (i) fundamental and advanced big-data analysis in solving real biological problems; (ii) behind the scene: classic and cutting-edge algorithms/methods for tool development; and (iii) in-hand practice of using tools and data analysis. The course will include an introduction to, and hands-on experience with, the R statistical software environment and the use of R packages that can be applied to these kinds of problems.
Course Name: Applications of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Informatics
Course Number: BMI 8050
Classroom: Carmenzoom (online)
Time: Autumn, 2020; Monday, 2:15‐5:00 PM
Instructor: Qin Ma, Ph.D.
GitHub repository: BMI8050-2020
Introduction: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) provides an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate and revolutionize human health and the pace of clinical and translational science. The purpose of this course is to train the next generation of the translational medical workforce by teaching them the primary ML and AI algorithms used in bioinformatics and computational biology. We will cover the theoretical underpinnings of the methodology along with an explanation of how to use practical implementations (in R or python) of how to apply the methods to real bioinformatics data sets. An important goal of the course is to introduce students to more advanced algorithms that are not covered in other classes in BMI. Examples include modern regression techniques (including ridge regression, lasso, and elastic nets), deep learning (CNN, RNN, GNN using TensorFlow), non-linear dimension reduction (including t-SNE and ISOMAP), directed and undirected graphical models, and association rules. It is noteworthy that the class will have a special emphasis on the fundamentals and applications of deep learning and provide a conceptual understanding of deep learning with a holistic view and latest developments in the field. By the end of the course, students will have had practice applying all of these methods to actual data sets.
Course Name: Fundamentals of Grant Writing
Course Number: BSGP 7070
Time: Autumn, 2019; Monday, 3:00‐5:30 pm
Instructor: Qin Ma
Learning Objectives:
- Understand basic grant writing steps and procedures.
- Define a single overall goal for your research project that is attainable.
- Define the gap in knowledge that prevents getting to your goal.
- Propose an objective that defines what your study will produce to fill gap and attain goal.
- Establish a hypothesis that is linked to the objective and is your “best bet answer”.
- Propose aims that test the hypothesis and are related to your overall goal and objective.
- Develop a research strategy and define expected outcomes and limitations.
- Learn to think like a reviewer.
- Create a grant application for submission and review by your peers.