I am interested in the following main areas:
- Using large-scale datasets for functional inference and hypothesis generation, with emphasis on plant stress biology,
- Validating computationally-derived hypothesis in a biological context, that is, doing “wet lab” molecular work for hypothesis testing,
- Developing novel data visualization methods and easy-to-use tools for mining data,
- Teaching and mentoring at all levels.
I am keen to advise students from Canada and abroad on any topic relating to the systems biology of Arabidopsis, and other organisms where appropriate. Students interested in masters and doctoral degrees should feel free to contact me. Programming experience would be helpful but is not necessary. I have a well-equipped “wet lab” for molecular biology, so a project with both computational and biological aspects is possible, especially in the area of plant stress biology. For another perspective contact people in my lab. The split between wet-lab and computational students is usually around 50:50.
Other related information on graduate studies in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, may be found here.
Please note that the Cell & Systems Biology Department participates in the Collaborative Graduate Program in Genome Biology and Bioinformatics. For further information on this program see http://gbb.utoronto.ca/. This program is designed to provide interdisciplinary training – check it out!