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- UD students meet alumni, experience 'closing bell' at NYSE
- Newark Police seek assistance in identifying suspects in robbery
- Rivlin says bipartisan budget action, stronger budget rules key to reversing debt
- Stink bugs shouldn't pose problem until late summer
- Gao to honor Placido Domingo in Washington performance
- Adopt-A-Highway project keeps Lewes road clean
- WVUD's Radiothon fundraiser runs April 1-10
- W.D. Snodgrass Symposium to honor Pulitzer winner
- New guide helps cancer patients manage symptoms
- UD in the News, March 25, 2011
- For the Record, March 25, 2011
- Public opinion expert discusses world views of U.S. in Global Agenda series
- Congressional delegation, dean laud Center for Community Research and Service program
- Center for Political Communication sets symposium on politics, entertainment
- Students work to raise funds, awareness of domestic violence
- Equestrian team wins regional championship in Western riding
- Markell, Harker stress importance of agriculture to Delaware's economy
- Carol A. Ammon MBA Case Competition winners announced
- Prof presents blood-clotting studies at Gordon Research Conference
- Sexual Assault Awareness Month events, programs announced
- Stay connected with Sea Grant, CEOE e-newsletter
- A message to UD regarding the tragedy in Japan
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- March 31-May 14: REP stages Neil Simon's 'The Good Doctor'
- April 2: Newark plans annual 'wine and dine'
- April 5: Expert perspective on U.S. health care
- April 5: Comedian Ace Guillen to visit Scrounge
- April 6, May 4: School of Nursing sponsors research lecture series
- April 6-May 4: Confucius Institute presents Chinese Film Series on Wednesdays
- April 6: IPCC's Pachauri to discuss sustainable development in DENIN Dialogue Series
- April 7: 'WVUDstock' radiothon concert announced
- April 8: English Language Institute presents 'Arts in Translation'
- April 9: Green and Healthy Living Expo planned at The Bob
- April 9: Center for Political Communication to host Onion editor
- April 10: Alumni Easter Egg-stravaganza planned
- April 11: CDS session to focus on visual assistive technologies
- April 12: T.J. Stiles to speak at UDLA annual dinner
- April 15, 16: Annual UD push lawnmower tune-up scheduled
- April 15, 16: Master Players series presents iMusic 4, China Magpie
- April 15, 16: Delaware Symphony, UD chorus to perform Mahler work
- April 18: Former NFL Coach Bill Cowher featured in UD Speaks
- April 21-24: Sesame Street Live brings Elmo and friends to The Bob
- April 30: Save the date for Ag Day 2011 at UD
- April 30: Symposium to consider 'Frontiers at the Chemistry-Biology Interface'
- April 30-May 1: Relay for Life set at Delaware Field House
- May 4: Delaware Membrane Protein Symposium announced
- May 5: Northwestern University's Leon Keer to deliver Kerr lecture
- May 7: Women's volleyball team to host second annual Spring Fling
- Through May 3: SPPA announces speakers for 10th annual lecture series
- Through May 4: Global Agenda sees U.S. through others' eyes; World Bank president to speak
- Through May 4: 'Research on Race, Ethnicity, Culture' topic of series
- Through May 9: Black American Studies announces lecture series
- Through May 11: 'Challenges in Jewish Culture' lecture series announced
- Through May 11: Area Studies research featured in speaker series
- Through June 5: 'Andy Warhol: Behind the Camera' on view in Old College Gallery
- Through July 15: 'Bodyscapes' on view at Mechanical Hall Gallery
- More What's Happening >>
- UD calendar >>
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- Senior wins iPad for participating in assessment study
- April 19: Procurement Services schedules information sessions
- UD Bookstore announces spring break hours
- HealthyU Wellness Program encourages employees to 'Step into Spring'
- April 8-29: Faculty roundtable series considers student engagement
- GRE is changing; learn more at April 15 info session
- April 30: UD Evening with Blue Rocks set for employees
- Morris Library to be open 24/7 during final exams
- More Campus FYI >>
12:02 p.m., March 3, 2009----Renowned bioinformatics researcher Cathy Wu is a pioneer in her field, which uses computational sciences to catalog and better understand biological sciences. But, Wu says, for her, a piece has long been missing, limiting what she can do.
“The driving force of 21st century biology is integration,” she said. “For us to move one step further we need to see the research we could develop with people in quantitative sciences, like engineering.”
Wu will now have the luxury of working with University of Delaware faculty and researchers in the fields of engineering, computer science, math and biological sciences. She joins UD's Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences and the Delaware Biotechnology Institute as the Edward G. Jefferson Chair of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
“Dr. Wu is an outstanding addition to the University's faculty,” UD Provost Dan Rich said, in announcing her appointment. “She was appointed after an extensive international search. She is a world leader in this critical emerging field and the most appropriate person to hold this new faculty chair, which honors the late Edward Jefferson, former chairman and chief executive officer of the DuPont Co. and a University trustee and benefactor. The Jefferson Chair is funded through an endowment established by the Unidel Foundation, and we are grateful for this support and for the opportunity it has now created for Dr. Wu to join our faculty.”
Before joining UD, Wu served as professor at Georgetown University Medical Center, and she will retain adjunct status there, traveling to Washington, D.C., once a week. Since 2001, she has led the Protein Information Resource, a major bioinformatics resource that supports genomics, proteomics and systems biology research.
The PIR Web sites are accessible by researchers worldwide and receive more than 4 million hits per month. PIR will now have two branches: one at GU and a second here at UD.
“We are considering this a great expansion of what we can do at PIR,” Wu said.
Wu says she's excited to take her new post and plans to focus much of her attention on the creation of a new center on campus, the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.
“The new center will become a focal point for a lot of synergistic activities,” she said.
Wu explains its importance by noting the changes that have occurred in biology over time. Years ago, she says, biologists used to study a gene or protein for whole career. Scientific advancement means researchers now produce immense amounts of data, and computers have become vital in making sense of it all.
The Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology will be part of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. New graduate programs will be established through the center. Wu aims to have a master's course of study in place for the 2010-2011 academic year, with a Ph.D. program to follow.
Another benefit of the center, Wu said, is the opportunities she sees for collaborations with other UD entities, including the Energy Institute.
She can think of dozens of examples involving plants and microbial communities, and the immense amount of data that can be collected from them.
“Computational analysis will allow us to better understand bioenergy and the carbon cycle,” she said.
And that, she said, is just the beginning.
Article by Andrea Boyle
Photo by Kathy Atkinson