The genetic material or ?genomes? of all living things is made of DNA and carries the instructions for creating each individual. A large part of each genome does not code for any protein and was previously thought to be ?junk?. We now understand that these ?non-coding? regions of the genomes are often copied into RNA, and contain an important part of the instructions that define each species, such as the different tissues of the body or adaptation to different growth conditions. Deciphering the information contained in the non-coding genome and the RNA molecules that it produces is an enormous challenge today. We lack computer software that can analyze non-coding RNA sequences for patterns that will allow us to understand what the sequences mean and how these RNA molecules act in the cell. This project supports young US scientists to participate in an RNA bioinformatics ?hackathon?, planned to be held in May of 2020. The hackathon involves 8-10 teams that work for three days to develop software prototypes that solve one or more challenges in RNA sequence analysis (bioinformatics) and in deciphering the non-coding genome. The scientists will also participate in the RNA 2020 conference following the hackathon, where the latest research on non-coding RNA will be presented. This project will increase US competitiveness in biotechnology by creating a base for the development of commercial software for genetics analysis. It will also expand and diversify the US workforce in RNA bioinformatics by exposing computer science students from under-represented groups to the science of non-coding RNA.
This proposal aims to support the first "RNA bioinformatics hackathon? and to advance the integration of the state-of-the-art computational techniques with the challenge of deciphering non-coding RNA and the ?dark? genome. The hackathon will be a three-day coding intensive workshop where graduate students, post-docs and PIs prototype novel ideas and software specifically focused on RNA sequence and structure. Following the hackathon, participants will attend the RNA Society meeting. The RNA hackathon will leverage an established infrastructure for hackathons at the University of British Columbia. It will also leverage the convention of world-experts in RNA science at the RNA Society meeting in Vancouver. The RNA hackathon is intended to produce new software or computational methods for analyzing RNA sequencing data. The hackathon operates on an open source platform, and all products of the hackathon will be made available to the public on github. Some projects are expected to ultimately lead to professional software that will advance the development of technology companies in the US. The results of this project will be available at https://github.com/hackseq.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
