? The revolution in functional genomics has provided a windfall of expression, functional and protein interaction data. These have led to remarkable advances in molecular profiles for cancer, assembly of genetic regulatory hierarchies, genome-wide analysis of development and systematic searches for drug targets. The success of functional genomics has relied heavily in interdisciplinary interactions from diverse fields such as genetics, computer science, medicine and engineering. ? ? A current challenge in functional genomics is to develop analytical methods and data mining algorithms to keep up with the avalanche of data being generated. Methods are also needed to integrate data from diverse genome-wide expression profiles and to apply common themes from model organisms to human disease. Progress in holistic approaches will shed light on complex biological systems, such as cancer profiling, developmental morphogenesis, and quantitative genetics. ? ? The goal of the meeting is to integrate advances in human disease, modeling of genetic networks, quantitative trait mapping, and data mining techniques. ? ?
