Statistical Methods In Bioinformatics

There was a real need for a book that introduces statistics and probability as they apply to bioinformatics. This book presents an accessible introduction to elementary probability and statistics and describes the main statistical applications in the field.

Advances in computers and biotechnology have had a profound impact on biomedical research, and as a result complex data sets can now be generated to address extremely complex biological questions. Correspondingly, advances in the statistical methods necessary to analyze such data are following closely behind the advances in data generation methods. The statistical methods required by bioinformatics present many new and difficult problems for the research community. This book provides an introduction to some of these new methods. The main biological topics treated include sequence analysis, BLAST, microarray analysis, gene finding, and the analysis of evolutionary processes. The main statistical techniques covered include hypothesis testing and estimation, Poisson processes, Markov models and Hidden Markov models, and multiple testing methods. The second edition features new chapters on microarray analysis and on statistical inference, including a discussion of ANOVA, and discussions of the statistical theory of motifs and methods based on the hypergeometric distribution. Much material has been clarified and reorganized. The book is written so as to appeal to biologists and computer scientists who wish to know more about the statistical methods of the field, as well as to trained statisticians who wish to become involved with bioinformatics. The earlier chapters introduce the concepts of probability and statistics at an elementary level, but with an emphasis on material relevant to later chapters and often not covered in standard introductory texts. Later chapters should be immediately accessible to the trained statistician. Sufficient mathematical background consists of introductory courses in calculus and linear algebra. The basic biological concepts that are used are explained, or can be understood from the context, and standard mathematical concepts are summarized in an Appendix. Problems are provided at the end of each chapter allowing the reader to develop aspects of the theory outlined in the main text. Warren J. Ewens holds the Christopher H. Brown Distinguished Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of two books, Population Genetics and Mathematical Population Genetics. He is a senior editor of Annals of Human Genetics and has served on the editorial boards of Theoretical Population Biology, GENETICS, Proceedings of the Royal Society B and SIAM Journal in Mathematical Biology. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Science. Gregory R. Grant is a senior bioinformatics researcher in the University of Pennsylvania Computational Biology and Informatics Laboratory. He obtained his Ph.D. in number theory from the University of Maryland in 1995 and his Masters in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. Comments on the first edition: "This book would be an ideal text for a postgraduate course...[and] is equally well suited to individual study.... I would recommend the book highly." (Biometrics) "Ewens and Grant have given us a very welcome introduction to what is behind those pretty [graphical user] interfaces." (Naturwissenschaften) "The authors do an excellent job of presenting the essence of the material without getting bogged down in mathematical details." (Journal American Statistical Association) "The authors have restructured classical material to a great extent and the new organization of the different topics is one of the outstanding services of the book." (Metrika)

Now in its second edition, this handbook collects authoritative contributions on modern methods and tools in statistical bioinformatics with a focus on the interface between computational statistics and cutting-edge developments in computational biology. The three parts of the book cover statistical methods for single-cell analysis, network analysis, and systems biology, with contributions by leading experts addressing key topics in probabilistic and statistical modeling and the analysis of massive data sets generated by modern biotechnology. This handbook will serve as a useful reference source for students, researchers and practitioners in statistics, computer science and biological and biomedical research, who are interested in the latest developments in computational statistics as applied to computational biology.

This book provides an essential understanding of statistical concepts necessary for the analysis of genomic and proteomic data using computational techniques. The author presents both basic and advanced topics, focusing on those that are relevant to the computational analysis of large data sets in biology. Chapters begin with a description of a statistical concept and a current example from biomedical research, followed by more detailed presentation, discussion of limitations, and problems. The book starts with an introduction to probability and statistics for genome-wide data, and moves into topics such as clustering, classification, multi-dimensional visualization, experimental design, statistical resampling, and statistical network analysis. Clearly explains the use of bioinformatics tools in life sciences research without requiring an advanced background in math/statistics Enables biomedical and life sciences researchers to successfully evaluate the validity of their results and make inferences Enables statistical and quantitative researchers to rapidly learn novel statistical concepts and techniques appropriate for large biological data analysis Carefully revisits frequently used statistical approaches and highlights their limitations in large biological data analysis Offers programming examples and datasets Includes chapter problem sets, a glossary, a list of statistical notations, and appendices with references to background mathematical and technical material Features supplementary materials, including datasets, links, and a statistical package available online Statistical Bioinformatics is an ideal textbook for students in medicine, life sciences, and bioengineering, aimed at researchers who utilize computational tools for the analysis of genomic, proteomic, and many other emerging high-throughput molecular data. It may also serve as a rapid introduction to the bioinformatics science for statistical and computational students and audiences who have not experienced such analysis tasks before.

Advances in computers and biotechnology have had a profound impact on biomedical research, and as a result complex data sets can now be generated to address extremely complex biological questions. Correspondingly, advances in the statistical methods necessary to analyze such data are following closely behind the advances in data generation methods. The statistical methods required by bioinformatics present many new and difficult problems for the research community. This book provides an introduction to some of these new methods. The main biological topics treated include sequence analysis, BLAST, microarray analysis, gene finding, and the analysis of evolutionary processes. The main statistical techniques covered include hypothesis testing and estimation, Poisson processes, Markov models and Hidden Markov models, and multiple testing methods. The second edition features new chapters on microarray analysis and on statistical inference, including a discussion of ANOVA, and discussions of the statistical theory of motifs and methods based on the hypergeometric distribution. Much material has been clarified and reorganized. The book is written so as to appeal to biologists and computer scientists who wish to know more about the statistical methods of the field, as well as to trained statisticians who wish to become involved with bioinformatics. The earlier chapters introduce the concepts of probability and statistics at an elementary level, but with an emphasis on material relevant to later chapters and often not covered in standard introductory texts. Later chapters should be immediately accessible to the trained statistician. Sufficient mathematical background consists of introductory courses in calculus and linear algebra. The basic biological concepts that are used are explained, or can be understood from the context, and standard mathematical concepts are summarized in an Appendix. Problems are provided at the end of each chapter allowing the reader to develop aspects of the theory outlined in the main text. Warren J. Ewens holds the Christopher H. Brown Distinguished Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of two books, Population Genetics and Mathematical Population Genetics. He is a senior editor of Annals of Human Genetics and has served on the editorial boards of Theoretical Population Biology, GENETICS, Proceedings of the Royal Society B and SIAM Journal in Mathematical Biology. He is a fellow of the Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Science. Gregory R. Grant is a senior bioinformatics researcher in the University of Pennsylvania Computational Biology and Informatics Laboratory. He obtained his Ph.D. in number theory from the University of Maryland in 1995 and his Masters in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. Comments on the first edition: "This book would be an ideal text for a postgraduate course...[and] is equally well suited to individual study.... I would recommend the book highly." (Biometrics) "Ewens and Grant have given us a very welcome introduction to what is behind those pretty [graphical user] interfaces." (Naturwissenschaften) "The authors do an excellent job of presenting the essence of the material without getting bogged down in mathematical details." (Journal American Statistical Association) "The authors have restructured classical material to a great extent and the new organization of the different topics is one of the outstanding services of the book." (Metrika)

This book discusses topics related to bioinformatics, statistics, and machine learning, presenting the latest research in various areas of bioinformatics. It also highlights the role of computing and machine learning in knowledge extraction from biological data, and how this knowledge can be applied in fields such as drug design, health supplements, gene therapy, proteomics and agriculture.

This book presents an overview of recent developments in biostatistics and bioinformatics. Written by active researchers in these emerging areas, it is intended to give graduate students and new researchers an idea of where the frontiers of biostatistics and bioinformatics are as well as a forum to learn common techniques in use, so that they can advance the fields via developing new techniques and new results. Extensive references are provided so that researchers can follow the threads to learn more comprehensively what the literature is and to conduct their own research. In particulars, the book covers three important and rapidly advancing topics in biostatistics: analysis of survival and longitudinal data, statistical methods for epidemiology, and bioinformatics.