CMGS (Computational Models for Gene Silencing) - used in RNA interference (RNAi), post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), or gene silencing explores the potential for transgenic research, therapeutic intervention, drug discovery, and development of novel biological agents in RNAi technologies. A current trend is the development of high-throughput RNAi screening technologies and commercial enterprises built around such capabilities
Intellectual Merits:
The CMGS system, by blending molecular modeling, sequence analysis, data representation, and inferencing algorithms into a coherent methodology, serves as a template for understanding how complex systems biology frameworks can be designed. CMGS will hence not only aid in its particular domain of application but also systems biology software projects with similarly broad scope.
Broader Impacts:
Enhanced participation of under-represented groups: Students from under-represented groups will spend, the summer in research labs at VT, monitored by the PIs, and their students. Every GBCB student is educated both in biology and in computation, and hence the program contributes to the immediate national (defense, public health and national priorities) need for young life scientists to be trained in the nature and value of bioinformatics tools and approaches. In addition, the GBCB program may attract more women into advanced computational science research than traditional computer science. CMGS will also be delivered as a web-based system for use by the broader biological systems modeling community to support interactive prediction and inferencing scenarios. We will use CMGS in courses offered under Virginia Tech's GBCB program, demonstrating the utility of multiple modes of investigation.
