Phylomania - The UTas Theoretical Phylogenetics Meeting, Hobart

Phylogenetics is concerned with the problem of reconstructing the past evolutionary history of organisms from molecular data, such as DNA, or morphological characters. There is ongoing interest in the further development of the mathematics that underlies computational phylogenetic methods. Hidden from view, in the software packages used by biologists, are algorithms performing statistical inference using Markov models on binary trees. The mathematics involved represents a unique confluence of probability theory, discrete mathematics, statistical inference, algebraic geometry, and group theory. There are many important theoretical problems that arise, such as statistical identifiability of models, consistency and convergence of methods. These problems can only be solved using a multi-disciplinary approach. Phylomania brings together phylogenetic researchers with a strong theoretical leaning, with the aim of discussing some of the more pressing problems.

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Workshop: Bioinformatics and Quantitative Bioscience get together in Hobart

If you are working in and around bioinformatics or other areas of quantitative bioscience and you are going to be in Hobart next Tuesday, please come along and meet folks like you at this seminar and discussion forum.

Who? When? Where? RSVP?

• Who? Speaker and forum facilitator: David Lovell
• When? 11am for an 11.10 start, Tuesday 29 October 2013
• Where? Auditorium of CSIRO's Hobart Laboratories
• RSVP: Please drop us a line if you're coming so we can have enough chocolate biscuits on hand!

What?

This get together has two main parts: one which is overtly scientific (on the analysis of relative abundance data), the other which is about building and strengthening communities of scientists and researchers.

Part 1: Have you got things in proportion? A practical strategy for exploring association in relative abundance data
Abstract: In molecular bioscience, measurements of relative abundance are, well… abundant. However, appreciation of the need to analyse and interpret these data differently to measurements of absolute abundance is scarce. I will show the problems that arise when relative abundance data is treated using standard analysis methods, especially correlation. I wall also describe a new way to handle observations that carry only relative information so that our conclusions are about the systems under study, not about artefacts of working with relative information.

Part 2: Bioinformatics in Hobart, Australia and beyond...
Abstract: This is a chance to find out about the Australian Bioinformatics Network, and to build and strengthen connections with regional, national and maybe even international bioinformatics communities. It's also a chance to share and explore some of the issues and challenges we face in delivering even more benefit from bioinformatics, using a format similar to that used at AMATA recently.

Phylomania 2012

Phylomania 2012 is UTas' Theoretical Phylogenetics Meeting. Anyone interested in molecular phylogenetics should consider attending.  Phylomania will bring together phylogenetic researchers with a strong theoretical leaning, with the aim of discussing some of the more pressing problems of the discipline.

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