The University of Missouri-Kansas City is hosting the Second Annual Midwest Bioinformatics Conference on April 13 and 14, a gathering that reflects the rapidly growing strength in bioinformatics among the research focus areas of UMKC and other institutions in the region.
Organized by the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute in partnership with UMKC and Children’s Mercy Hospital, the conference will bring together bioinformatics-minded researchers from academia and industry to promote capabilities, share tactical approaches to problem-solving, explore synergies, and launch potential collaborations to better facilitate this emerging area of excellence.
Bioinformatics includes several disciplines related to “big data,” including computer science and technology, data analytics, computational biology, health data management and more. When applied to health, disease and agriculture to improve human and animal health outcomes, these approaches shed light on disease mechanisms and crop production, reduce healthcare disparities and improve healthcare costs and outcomes. The Kansas City area has a high concentration of informatics employers including Cerner, Netsmart, numerous healthcare providers, the Stowers Institute and several universities.
The conference also provides an opportunity for bioinformatics students to learn about employment opportunities within the region and for employers to meet prospective candidates. UMKC offers a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an Emphasis in Bioinformatics and a Master of Science in Bioinformatics, a joint training program by the School of Medicine, School of Biological Sciences and School of Computing and Engineering.
- Day 1 of the conference is Thursday, April 13 at the Student Union, and includes a poster session
- Day 2 of the conference is Friday, April 14 at Atterbury Student Success Center, and includes mock interviews
Keynote speakers are Philip R.O. Payne, professor and founding director of the Institute for Informatics at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine; and Liz Worthey, faculty investigator and director of software development and informatics at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
UMKC faculty speakers include Jennifer Allsworth, Jannette Berkley-Patton, Donna Buchanan, Sarah Dallas, Lawrence Dreyfus, Mark Hoffman, Neil Mardis, Ashiq Masood, Kim Smolderen, Sarah Soden, Janakiraman Subramanian and Gerald Wyckoff.
UMKC also hosted the inaugural bioinformatics conference. See the new Midwest Bioinformatics website organized through KCALSI.