LIoyd Low
Bioinformatics Data Scientist
University of Adelaide, Australia
Day 1:
"Sustainable Bioinformatics: Integrating Green Practices in Research, Education and Practice"
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Lloyd Low has more than 10 years of experience in genomics and bioinformatics. He holds a PhD in genetics and has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Biostatistics. He has expertise in analysing multi-omics data from a diverse range of species, especially bovine species. His work has resulted in more than 50 research publications, including multiple papers in the prestigious Nature Communications, Nature Genetics, Nature, and GigaScience. He has edited two books, authored two book chapters, and holds an international patent. He led the creation of the first indicine cattle (Brahman) reference genome and played a key role in the creation of more cattle pan-genomes through his affiliation with the Bovine Pangenome Consortium and Ruminant Telomere-to-Telomere.
Javier De Las Rivas
Associate Professor
University of Salamanca, Spain
Day 1:
"From Virtual Labs to Real-World Applications: Innovating Bioinformatics Education"
"Building Bridges: Creating Impactful Education-Research Networks in Bioinformatics"
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Javier De Las Rivas obtained his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/ EHU, Bilbao, Spain) in 1990. Then, he joined Imperial College (London, UK) for his postdoctoral studies. He went back to Spain to join the Faculties of Pharmacy and Biology of the UPV/EHU as an Associate Professor / Lecturer (from 1993 to 1998), teaching Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Regulation of Metabolism. Later he expanded his expertise in “Bioinformatics and Computaional Biology” during his term as a Visiting Professor at the EMBL (Heidelberg, Germany) in 1998, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, USA) from 2000-2001, and more recently at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) (Boston, USA) (several stays between 2010 - 2020). Dr. De Las Rivas’ competence to carry out successful research in the fields of human genomics, proteins and bioinformatics is proven with his active participation in 48 funded official Research Projects during his career and the publication of more than 190 research articles in scientific JCR journals (H-index of 61). He currently is PI and director of the Group of Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics at the Cancer Research Center (CiC-IBMCC) of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and the University of Salamanca (USAL) in Salamanca (Spain).
Puthen Veettil Jithesh
Associate Professor / Associate Dean for Education / Student Affairs
Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
Day 1:
"Revolutionizing Bioinformatics with AI: New Frontiers in Genomic Medicine"
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Puthen Veettil Jithesh is the Associate Dean for Education and Program Coordinator of the Genomics & Precision Medicine graduate programs at the College of Health and Life Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. Dr. Jithesh holds a MSc in Microbiology, an Advanced Diploma in Bioinformatics, and received his PhD in Bioinformatics from Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom. He has around 25 years of research and development experience in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at several prestigious institutes in India, Qatar, and Russell Group research universities in the United Kingdom. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology in 2022. Dr. Jithesh’s research focuses on bioinformatics and computational biology tool development and applications in translational research, pharmacogenomics for the prediction of response and toxicity to drugs, identification of causal variants in genetic diseases, and the application of machine learning and data science toward the implementation of precision health. He leads the pharmacogenomics stream of the Qatar Genome Program Research Consortium. Before moving to Qatar, Dr. Jithesh was the Head of Bioinformatics for the Oxford Translational Molecular Diagnostic Centre at the University of Oxford.
Russell S. Schwartz
Professor and Head, Computational Biology Department
Carnegie Mellon University, USA
Day 1:
"Charting the Path Ahead: Setting Global Standards in Bioinformatics Education"
"Harnessing Big Data in Bioinformatics: Pioneering Approaches for Disease Prevention"
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Russell S. Schwartz is a Professor of Computational Biology and Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University and Head of Carnegie Mellon’s Ray and Stephanie Lane Computational Biology Department within its School of Computer Science. His research has covered many applications of modeling, simulation, algorithms, and machine learning in biology, including work in computational genomics, phylogenetics, population genetics, and biophysics. The largest area of his lab’s work in recent years has been computational cancer biology. He has also long been involved in bioinformatics education, working to improve standards for computational and quantitative training throughout the life sciences. He pursues that work primarily through the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), where he is currently co-chair of the Community of Special Interest in Education in addition to serving as a Vice President and member of the Board of Directors.
Shoba Ranganathan
Professor
Macquarie University, Australia
Day 1:
"Implementing FAIR and CARE Principles in Global Research Collaborations"
"Ethics of AI in Healthcare: Navigating the Challenges of Genomic Data Privacy"
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Shoba Ranganathan is currently Honorary Professor of Bioinformatics, Macquarie University, following her position as Chair of Bioinformatics, 2004-22. Dr. Ranganathan chairs the Board of honorary Directors of Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Network Ltd. She has held research and academic positions in France, USA, India, Singapore and Australia. She hosted the MQ node of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Bioinformatics, served as the first elected Australian Director, International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB); President, Asia-Pacific Bioinformatics Network (2005-16) and Chair, S* Life Science Informatics Alliance for online Bioinformatics education. She spearheaded the Workshop on Education in Bioinformatics in 2001. Dr. Ranganathan’s research is multidisciplinary and focusses on developing and applying innovative technologies to address biological and biomedical problems. Dr. Ranganathan has received several awards for her pioneering role in Bioinformatics, including the 2023 Outstanding Contributions to ISCB Award, election as 2023 ISCB Fellow and the 2018 Honorary Senior Fellowship, Australian Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Society. Dr. Ranganathan is a committed researcher, a passionate teacher and mentor.
Tin Wee Tan
Associate Professor
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Day 1:
"Bioinformatics and Public Health: Biosurveillance Analytics for Epidemic Preparedness"
Day 2:
"Empowering the Next Generation: Integrating Supercomputing, AI, and Education to Advance Bioinformatics"
BIOGRAPHY
Tin Wee Tan, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biochemistry, National University of Singapore, and founding Chief Executive of the National Supercomputing Centre (NSCC) Singapore. He has significantly influenced the development of Internet technologies in Asia and continues to advance research at the intersection of life sciences, high performance computing, and Internet technologies.
Yam Wai Keat
Senior Lecturer
IMU University, Malaysia
Day 1:
"Skillsets Transferability in Bioinformatics: Developing Essential Skills for Future Scientists"
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Yam Wai Keat holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Bioinformatics from the University of Malaya and a PhD in Structural Bioinformatics from the University of Science Malaysia. She is the Associate Dean, Research & External Engagement at IMU University’s School of Business & Technology. Specializing in Structural Bioinformatics, she has expanded her focus to educational research, seeking to bridge bioinformatics and healthcare data science. Dr. Yam has secured multiple research grants and mentors students across various levels. She actively conducts workshops and trainings in bioinformatics and data science throughout Southeast Asia. Dr. Yam co-chairs the Education COSI for ISCB and is an elected Executive Board member of GOBLET. She serves as the Malaysia Liaison Officer in APBioNET and has held leadership roles in MaSBiC and MyBioInfoNet. She is also a former Affiliated Member of the Young Scientists Network (YSN-ASM) and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry.