Meeting Review: Bioinformatics of Biochips: Accelerating Discovery in Functional Genomics

The unprecedented scale and content of genomic and proteomic information now emerging from global sequencing and analysis efforts offer new opportunities in biological research. Technological and computational developments have enabled first phase analytical platforms for genomic and proteomic studies. However, the ultimate goal will be to integrate data from diverse analytical platforms, so that biological systems can be modelled with increasing complexity to achieve understanding at the systems level. The new techniques of microarray technology and high-throughput screening (HTS) proteomics are already providing new insights into cell form and function. These approaches are poised to revolutionize much of biological research methodology, but will require the increasing fusion of biological sciences with mathematics, computing and physical sciences to generate platform technologies and approaches for the specific and HTS analysis of biological processes. This workshop was held to review the central role of bioarrays in genomic and proteomic studies and to examine their potential for future applications. It was also critical to consider the requirement for bioinformatic and computational tools and methods to enable rational handling and interpretation of data. This event was organized as a research workshop under the auspices of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Wellcome Trust. The report below considers the three major bioarray-related themes resulting from the meeting: analytical methods; functional genomic applications and the development of new technologies. These key areas will require fusion to provide a fuller understanding of biological systems (Figure 1).