Experts | University of the Sciences

Bioinformaticians Have a Leg Up on Data Issue, Standards Needed

Scientists have a problem: there is just too much data being created and not enough structure in dealing with it. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the issue at hand in a Feb. 10, 2011, article titled, “Dumped On by Data: Scientists Say a Deluge Is Drowning Research” by Josh Fischman. The article points the finger at “the lack of data libraries, insufficient support from federal research agencies, and the lack of academic credit for sharing data sets.”

Associate Professor Dr. Randy Zauhar, who is the Graduate Program Director for Bioinformatics at University of the Sciences, understands the issue first hand:

"In general, Bioinformatics has done a better job of data standardization than other disciplines. There are several reasons for that - first it included computer scientists at the beginning, and they are much better than biologists (or even physicists) in keeping raw data systematized. (Biologists did a great job with taxonomy, but that developed a long time ago, and it was in Greek and Latin, not binary!) Second, the raw data has a simple format (just text strings). 

"That said, Bioinformaticians struggle today in dealing with the sheer volume of data generated by contemporary sequencing methods. A more pressing problem in my view is moving away from the raw data (where standardization is easy) and into the world of annotation, where you attach meaning to the raw data. Here there is much less uniformity, and that has prompted interest in development of ontologies (essentially controlled vocabularies). If standard ontologies can be agreed on, there may be some hope to better systematizing ALL the information being generated. However, given that one of our major resources, NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) has actually become LESS friendly to the end user over the years, I do not feel very optimistic."

Ethics in Computing

Ethics in Computing. During a class discussion in our Information Technology (CS-250) course at The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia we were examining the ethics of computing. History has shown us that the use of technology can be for good or for bad intentions. For example, nuclear technology provides us with medical therapies and clean energy but has also been used as a weapon of war. The automobile has provided society with an easily accessible travel vehicle but also results in many deaths each year and degrades the environment. Computers and the Internet have had profound impacts on society.  Many positive changes to business, entertainment, and social networking have been due to computer technology.  But there are also negative aspects to the computer revolution. As a professional computer scientist or computer engineer, you should help advance the field of study by adhering to a set of ethical standards that illustrate the positive aspects of modern computer technology.  Computer scientists need to be at the forefront of identifying unethical uses of computer technology. We came up with the following list of intentional unethical uses of computers. Can you identify any others?

1. Hacking

2. Spam

3. Phishing

4. Pirating 

5. Stealing Data

6. Identity Theft

7. Cyber Bullying

8. Spreading Viruses

9. Cyber Snooping

10. Online Gambling

11. Online Illegal Solicitation

12. Cyber Squatting 

Dr. Jim Pierce Talks Electronic Medical Records with KYW Radio

There is more and more discussion about the prospect of electronic medical records becoming reality here in the US. Dr. James Pierce, chair of the bioinformatics and computer science department at the University of the Sciences, talks about some of the challenges of making this a reality. Read the full story by KYW’s Matt Leon at KYW Newsradio.

Listne to a full podcast of the interview: http://www.kyw1060.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3700747

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The Department of Health Policy and Public Health at the University’s Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy is proud to present a unique forum for policy dialogue on the Future of Health Information Technology.

Thursday, May 14, 2009, from 5-7 p.m.
Reception to follow in the McNeil STC Atrium

Learn more: http://www.usp.edu/symposium/

Electronic Medical Records: Challenges to the President’s Plan to Digitize Healthcare

Reposted from HealthNewsDigest.com - Philadelphia, Pa.– Ready or not, electronic medical records (EMRs) are coming to a hospital near you. President Barack Obama has devoted $20 billion to healthcare IT in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and in February 2009, he announced his aspirations to have an electronic health record for each person in the U.S. by 2014. Dr. James Pierce, chair of the Bioinformatics and Computer Science Department at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, notes that a nation-wide implementation of EMRs comes with considerable challenges, as well as tremendous advantages.

“Digitization of the healthcare system will be much more efficient and cost-effective, and will enable easier communication among different parts of the system, simpler manageability, and less storage compared to paper records,” explained Dr. Pierce. “EMRs allow healthcare providers to send queries electronically, which is expected to decrease the errors that are made on paper and ultimately, save lives.”  Read More

Research Day Showcases Faculty and Student Research

From metabolic engineering to computational chemistry and from structural prediction of proteins to rational design of new therapeutics, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia showcased the diversity and growth of research pursuits on campus during its 7th Annual Research Day starting on Thursday, April 2, 2009. Posters representing approximately 120 topics were on display.

Research Day recognizes undergraduate and graduate student research efforts, and highlights aspects of faculty scholarly activity to encourage and promote communication and collaboration among investigators. The University is distinctive in that most undergraduate students conduct research with faculty early in their academic careers.

The diverse research activity on display spans several aspects of the University’s scholarly pursuits, including:

• Biological Sciences: Dr. Jennifer Anthony’s research involving the metabolic engineering of E. coli for the production of vitamin A.
  • Chemistry: Dr. Randy Zauhar’s use of computer-aided drug design to identify new antimicrobial lead compounds.
• Pharmaceutical Sciences: Dr. Bin Chen’s evaluation of the effects of vascular-targeting photodynamic therapy on prostate cancer metastasis.
• Physical Therapy: Dr. Therese Johnston’s usage of treadmill training for children with cerebral palsy.
• Social Sciences: Psychology major Mark Paullin’s (Philadelphia, Pa.) study of mild cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.
• Health Policy: Master in public health major Sekinat Kekere-Ekun’s (Deptford, N.J.) work on the descriptive epidemiology of viral hepatitis in methadone maintenance clients.
• Pharmacy Practice: Doctor of pharmacy students Neha Patel (Fairless Hills, Pa.), Puja Patel (Hillsborough, N.J.), and Isha Shah’s (Bensalem, Pa.) analysis of the usage of ondansetron in non-chemotherapy patients at a community teaching hospital.