Thrust Area of Research

Source: http://www.csb.iitkgp.ac.in/bioinformatics_centre/research.html Parent: http://www.csb.iitkgp.ac.in/bioinformatics_centre/announcement.html

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Research and development is one of the thrust areas of this DBT supported Bioinformatics centre. One of the major challenges in the field of modern biology is to understand the gene regulatory networks, where protein‐RNA interactions play major roles. Moreover, a plethora of human diseases are associated with the misregulation of protein‐RNA interactions. The major objective if this centre is to understand the structural basis of gene regulatory networks. We aim to understand how gene expression changes are driven by alterations in gene regulation networks. Large‐scale changes in expression of genes are commonly observed in environmental adaptations of microbes and in many human diseases. Several mechanisms can drive such expression changes such as copy number variation of genes, changes in the gene regulation including protein‐RNA interactions, regulatory control exerted by non‐coding RNAs, and alterations in transcription factor binding sites through mutations. Considering the complexity and dynamics of the regulatory networks, it is imperative to gain a better understanding on regulatory networks in healthy and diseased human (cancer/neurodegenerative disease), identification of keystone members, and their functional capacity in offering better disease management, especially focusing on Indian cohort. This might offer new opportunities for prevention of these diseases by understanding etiologic pathways as well as for screening, diagnosis and maybe even treatment.